Shipping charges hike: Clearing agents picket MSC, Lansal; demand reversal to old rates

Operations at major shipping lines were brought to a standstill Wednesday as clearing agents operating at the nation’s seaports staged a protest against the recent hike in shipping charges.

Members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), among others, picketed the offices of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Lagos and Niger Shipping Agencies Limited (LANSAL), and PIL.

The aggrieved agents who carried placards with inscriptions such as “MSC, you are killing Nigerians” and “Protect the economy—enough is enough,” are demanding an immediate return to the status quo.

The protest, however, took a dramatic turn when efforts by the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr. Pius Akutah, to broker peace proved abortive. Upon his arrival at the MSC office, he was prevented from gaining access by the aggrieved agents who expressed dissatisfaction over his handling of the situation.

Meanwhile, the NSC, has condemned the action of the freight forwarders describing it as unprofessional.

According to the Council, such protesters are not expected to be in a regulatory environment. “We want to mediate but every effort to broker peace was resisited by the agents, ” a senior management staff of the NSC said.

Earlier, the agents had accused the NSC leadership of failing to ensure transparency and proper stakeholder engagement.

The agents said despite a previous directive to suspend the increments, shipping lines remained defiant, implementing the new rates without recourse to dialogue.

Speaking during a deadlocked meeting with MSC management in Apapa, the ANLCA Western Zone Coordinator, Femi Anifowoshe who led the agents described the tariff increase as unfair and unacceptable.

He noted that while assurances were given by NSC in January that a stakeholders’ meeting would be convened, no such meeting has occurred, yet the new charges were enforced.

Also speaking,, Public Relations Officer, ANLCA Tin Can Island Chapter, Emmanuel Onyeme said, “We met with the Shippers’ Council in January, chaired by the Director of Consumer Affairs, Madam Ify. We were promised a stakeholder engagement, but instead, shipping companies began issuing debit notes with increased rates, ignoring the NSC’s supposed suspension of the charges.”

The management of MSC and LANSAL have, however, defended the increment, insisting their actions were carried out with approval from the NSC.

The Managing Director of MSC, Jacob Losso explained that the hike was necessitated by the soaring cost of doing business in Nigeria.

He said that the NSC had officially approved the new charges as far back as December 2025.

“There was no written retraction from the NSC to suspend the tariff. Out of our own magnanimity, we delayed implementation to give people time, eventually starting on March 1st. The increment we requested was actually higher than what was granted, but we accepted the NSC’s approved rate as a concession,” he said.

The MSC boss further defended the increase, noting it was lower than recent hikes by terminal operators, which had faced less resistance.

Similarly, at LANSAL, a representative of the Managing Director, identified as Mr. Amadi, disclosed that the new rates were not sudden but were the result of eight months deliberation process with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council before final approval was granted.

As of press time, the situation remains tense, with freight forwarding associations unanimously rejecting the increments and vowing to continue their agitation until the rates are reversed.