The Managing Director Simon Travers of Josepdam Port Services Nigeria Limited, operators of ‘terminal A’ at the Tin-can Island port, is currently turning back ships seeking to berth at the multi-purpose terminal. Maritime Speaking in an exclusive interview in his office in Lagos.
The turnaround time is supposed to be seven days, that is the average, but at the moment it is 27 to 28 days and this is reducing our throughput ability. “The longer the cargo stays on the terminal the less cargo we can off load from other ships, so we are turning away ships because we do not have space. We had some ships few weeks back but we had to reject them because we have no space.
Travers said that the absence of critical infrastructure at the ports has affected the ship turn-around time at the terminal and has led to delay in the evacuation of consignments cleared from the facility.
He stated out that the turn-around time for cargo used to be seven days but presently takes between 27 to 28 days to clear consignments from the terminal which hinders space for discharge of more ships and cargoes. He stated: ”The local infrastructure is primarily the problem we are facing because of the turnaround time of cargo here.