NPA ties renewal of shipping firms’ license to holding bays

TRACKING___THE Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, has said that any shipping company without a holding bay to store empty containers will henceforth not have its license renewed.

Managing Director of the NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, said the Authority had sanctioned shipping companies for non-availability of empty container holding bays in 2019 adding that it was mauling more severe sanction for erring firms that refuse to comply with its directive.

Usman said that NPA has given shipping companies modalities requiring them to evacuate certain number of empty containers from their terminals on a monthly basis. She also disclosed that some shipping firms’ renewal applications have been turned down on the basis of non-availability of holding bays.

She stated: “We have given a modality in which every shipping company is required to take out equivalent number of containers they bring in every month and non-compliance to that is supposed to lead to a sanction.

”We have actually refused to renew licenses of some shipping companies due to non-provision of empty container holding bays. So within the period there has not been tracking/monitoring. I think that is the problem.

“I have noted this down. I am going to call the Marine and Operations division of the Authority to confirm the status. We actually refused to renew licence to shipping companies. They have to give evidence of empty container holding bays that is commensurate to what they bring in.

“I encourage stakeholders to write directly to us to the extent that you identify issues affecting this procedure and I will also push that in our system to ensure there is adequate monitoring.

“I will get our team to get back on it by next week so that we can ensure that the shipping companies adhere to what was agreed.”