APM Terminals in Apapa has offered the owners of the 1,290 containers that have stayed for one to 11 years a three-week 50 per cent reduction on storage charges, effect February 24 to March 15, 2020, to clear their cargo.
In a notice on Monday to port users, in support of the efforts of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to decongest the Apapa Port and enable the discharge of new containers, the APMT said: “We urgently request the importers of below listed 1290 containers that have been in the terminal for 365 to 4000 days to clear them.
“To assist importers, and in support of government policy, the terminal will offer 50 per cent discount on the storage charges for any of the listed containers delivered until 15th of March 2020. The full tariff will be payable from 16th of March 2020.”
It had in November 2019 urged importers to ensure prompt delivery of their containers to avoid build-up at the port as a result of increasing volumes, stating: “We have recently experienced a substantial increase in the volume of containers arriving through the seaports.
“This positive development can be attributed to various positive government policies, such as improvement in the implementation of Ease of Doing Business policy, the Agriculture Promotion Policy and closure of land borders to curtail smuggling activities, among others.
“However, if these containers are not cleared by customers soon enough, this volume increase could lead to high yard density, which could impact berthing of vessels, resulting in vessel queues. We are anticipating further improvement ahead of Christmas and year-end.”
Consequently, it appealed to all relevant stakeholders and the wider port community to ensure timely and effective delivery of containers, without compromising government’s policies and procedures.
It further urged them to take advantage of the discount window, while assuring of adequate resources for improved terminal performance.
