Shippers Council Begins Implementation Of Advanced Cargo Declaration

Seaport economic regulator, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council on Monday began implementation of the Advanced Cargo Declaration System(ACD), otherwise known as Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) on all imports into the country through the nation’s seaports.

The Shippers Council has since mid-2015 intimated port users and stakeholders of its plan to reintroduce the CTN which saw severe opposition a few years ago after it was first introduced by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) due to cost factor.

The Council has however maintained that this time, the CTN will not add to shippers’ or the consignees’ cost.

With CTN, cargoes on transit can be tracked from port of loading to port of destination, in terms of risk profiling of vessels, crew on-board vessels, ports of calls, mid-stream operations, cargo characteristics and more.

CTN which has received the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari is also a system that provides relevant information that helps in maritime security.

It is expected that CTN will check decades of fraudulent declarations by importers and even shipowners on arriving the ports.

A source close to the council said the port economic regulator had recently sent out notices to shipping lines, agencies, cargo owners and other stakeholders about the November 2, 2015 date of implementation in Nigerian ports.

Shipping lines and other stakeholders had also at a berthing meeting in Apapa discussed the take-off of the new scheme.

The Council had in the notice to stakeholders explained that the implementation of the scheme is for effective economic regulation, international trade facilitation, safety and security of cargo, ships and port installations.

It was gathered that shipping lines overseas keyed in into the implementation of the scheme by the NSC by complying with the requirements from NSC.

Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, said that new scheme will fasten cargo clearanceat the ports with the advanced information of the cargo that is coming.

Bello also said the new scheme will check pilferages and leakages in the harborages.

“You cannot import wrist watches or you cannot import tyres and say they are tiles. This one, you know what the manifest is. so before you come, you know, so the issue of compliance will be strengthened because unfortunately Nigerians don’t comply, they under-declare the goods they want to import. This is tax evasion.

Even the ships sometimes, they cut their gross registered tonnage (GRT) because of the amount they are to pay is tied to it. With CTN, they cannot do that…it is very transparent. Shippers’ Council will be able to see everything, including other agencies. This is the beginning of the new port order. We are talking about transparency, predictability and efficiency,” Bello explained.

Implementation of CTN is in line with the compliance requirements of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO’s) International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) Code for the safety of ships and port facilities.

It would be recalled that the decision to introduce CTN in West and Central African Sub-region was reached during a workshop organised by the Union of African Shipowners’ Council(UASC) in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) in February, 2002.

With the decision, CTN was then introduced in Garbon and Congo, followed by Angola, Senegal, Guinea, Benin Republic.

Nigeria had introduced CTN in 2009 under the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) but had to suspend it because of the controversy trailing the cost to shippers.

This time, the NSC, as the Ports Economic Regulator has assured that the cost imposed on shippers during the first time of implementation has been addressed.