Oritsegbubemi Omatseyin
Lagos — The Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC, through its Complaints Unit, has successfully secured a terminal storage and demurrage waiver valued at over ₦900 million from APM Terminals Apapa in favour of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN.
Representing the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Council, Mr. Akutah Pius Ukeyima, the Head, Complaints Unit, Dr. Ambi Bashir Mohammed, stated that the intervention further reinforces the Council’s statutory mandate as Nigeria’s designated Maritime and Commercial Shipping Dispute Resolution Agency under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Dr. Mohammed also introduced Mrs. Juliana Obiageli Saka, who is expected to assume leadership of the Unit in due course.
According to him, the waiver was achieved following a series of strategic tripartite engagements involving the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, APM Terminals, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria. The engagements comprised meetings held at both the Council’s headquarters and the terminal facility, official correspondence, telephone consultations, and sustained stakeholder engagement mechanisms aimed at resolving the matter amicably.
The concession granted by APM Terminals covers terminal storage charges accrued on 176 containers of imported power transmission equipment under ten Bills of Lading (B/Ls). The cargoes are designated for critical national electricity transmission infrastructure projects in support of Nigeria’s grid expansion and energy security objectives.
During the engagement process, the Customer Care Manager of APM Terminals formally confirmed approval of the terminal storage and demurrage waiver to the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
APM Terminals further appealed to the Council to facilitate prompt settlement of the outstanding balance by the Transmission Company of Nigeria within the approved timeline in order to preserve the validity of the waiver and avoid reapplication of terminal storage charges.
