The ongoing disputes over shipping tariff hikes between freight agents and shipping agencies deepened on Monday as mediation efforts led by the House Committee on Shipping Services and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) ended in a stalemate.
The meeting, held in Lagos, followed earlier deliberation at the National Assembly penultimate week aimed at resolving the impasse after the NSC suspended its earlier plan to implement a 30 percent tariff hike and opted for broader stakeholder consultation.
The engagement yesterday, however, stalled as shipping firms rejected the 30 percent increase proposed by the NSC while other stakeholders continue to resist the added financial burden.
The shipping firms argued that the current tariff regime is unsustainable,
citing rising inflation, increasing operational costs, foreign exchange volatility and global shipping pressure as reasons the current tariff regime is no longer sustainable.
Speaking after a closed door session, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki said efforts were ongoing to reach a consensus among stakeholders.
He disclosed that a fresh round of stakeholder engagement has been scheduled within the next two weeks to address unresolved issues.
He directed the NSC, shipping firms and other stakeholders to identify and resolve grey areas, while also establishing timelines for further engagement.
He expressed optimism that the process, which began late last year, would be concluded before May, with an agreed framework for implementation.
“We expect that at the next meeting, there will be a clear framework, including timelines and participation of regulatory representatives to guide the process towards implementation, ” he said.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah had defended the Council’s approval of a 30 percent increase noting that although the increase was previously suspended, it remains the maximum allowable adjustment and will be implemented gradually, subject to further engagement between shipping companies and their customers.
Akutah emphasized that the review became necessary after more than two years without any tariff adjustments, despite rising operational costs across the industry.
While acknowledging concerns from shipping firms that the 30 percent cap falls below current inflation levels, he maintained that the decision reflects a careful balance between industry sustainability and the broader economic interest.
He further disclosed that the Council is developing an automated tariff system designed to align future pricing adjustments with prevailing economic indicators such as inflation and exchange rate fluctuations.
According to him, the initiative will promote greater transparency, predictability, and flexibility in the maritime pricing framework.
National Vice President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Segun Oduntan, who spoke on behalf of members of the association rejected the proposed blanket increment.
He accused several shipping companies of operating substandard operations in Nigeria while repatriating profits abroad.
Oduntan said the lines had undermined the NSC’s regulatory authority by failing to engage freight forwarding associations in writing before implementing the increases, as mandated by the Council.
“We would not allow all the shipping companies to get a flat rate increment of 30%, they should have written to us, not all of them can carry out that increment, many of them are still operating on a ramshackle level.
“I also have a shipping license granted to me by the Nigerian Ports Authority. Shippers Council should allow us to deal directly with the shipping companies and reach an agreement on the percentage of increment that befits each shipping company, we know ourselves and the services they are rendering, so the Shippers Council should not be the one that would speak for them. We are not going to accept the proposed flat rate of 30% increment, we say No,” Oduntan stated.
Chairman of the Shipping Association of Nigeria ( SAN) Boma Alabi, also expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of the meeting stating that
there had been no progress in establishing a fair and predictable mechanism for tariff reviews, similar to those in other regulated sectors.
She also criticised what she described as mixed signals from the NSC, particularly regarding individual tariff approvals granted to some operators, which she said had complicated the negotiation process.
The meeting had in attendance representatives from the Shippers Association, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Shipping Companies, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders, Logistics (APFFLON) among others.
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