A far-reaching drop in vessel calls into Nigeria’s ports has seen operations in the maritime sector spiral into new lows as businesses continue to struggle due to the forex crisis and inflation with adverse effects on the economy.
They impacted terminal operators from shipping companies, truckers, and licensed customs agents to freight forwarders. Thus, the volume of vessel calls (the number of vessels coming into the country) has reduced so drastically that terminal operators and shipping companies are struggling to remain afloat.
According to checks, there has been a drop of 4.5 per cent in the number of vessel calls into Nigerian ports, from 3,957 in 2022 to 3,778 in 2023. Reports from the Nigerian Ports Consultative Council, NPCC, in its quarterly meeting, showed that container traffic declined by 6.8 per cent to 1.56mn 20 Feet Equivalent Units, TEUs, from 1.68mn TEUs in 2023.
For instance, cargo imports dropped by 20 per cent, containerized goods by 30 per cent, and vehicle imports by 55 per cent. It was also learned that a vessel that previously came into the country with 4,000 containers now comes with just 300.
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Bashir Adewale Adeniyi affirmed that there has indeed been a drastic drop in cargo traffic and encouraged Nigerians to engage in more exports to boost the naira.
Adeniyi, who visited some of the terminals in Lagos bemoaned the reality that most terminals were empty, noting that import trade has dropped significantly.
