By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has mandated all shipping companies operating in Nigeria to establish holding bays for empty containers and oversee their coordinated return to the ports.
This development was reached after a stakeholders’ meeting over the weekend after which a notice from the Truck Transit Parks Limited, NPA’s partner for the management of truck movements in and out of the ports, outlined the requirement as part of broader measures to ease congestion at the port terminals and along the port corridor.
According to the notice, the NPA is enforcing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the return of empty containers.
Under the new directive, shipping companies are now required to specify on their Terminal Delivery Order (TDO) the designated holding bays where truck drivers are to return empty containers. As stated, this SOP is aimed at tackling the recent increase in port traffic and related issues.
The procedure requires that each shipping company must have an NPA-approved holding bay, listed on the Eto platform, for returning empty containers after offloading.
Additionally, the movement of empty containers to the ports will be exclusively managed by the respective shipping lines and their holding bays. Truck drivers returning containers must comply with designated time slots for such transfers.
Commenting on the initiative, a spokesperson for the body, MrTemi Ogungbemi expressed optimism about the possible benefits of the move.
He noted that if implemented in good faith, this approach could improve the efficient evacuation of containers to their respective terminals, enhancing port operations.