The panelist at the event
Panelists at the Regional Maritime Stakeholder Conference on Global Best Practices in Vessel Clearance have said that high compliance in the African shipping industry would greatly boost the fortunes of the sector.
Speaking on the topic: “Positioning our Ports and Terminals for the Blue Economy and the AfCFTA Opportunity,” the panelists agreed that there are vast opportunities to attract more vessels to the continent provided that strict adherence to regulations that govern the operations at the ports would be enforced.
According to them, this would go a long way to reduce delays in cargo and vessel clearance which would then lead to the growth and development of the sector.
National Coordinator-Port Standing Task Team (PSTT) and Deputy Director of Nigeria’s Shippers’ Council (NSC), Moses Fadipe, said his outfit has begun reaping the benefits of strict compliance.
He noted that last year, the strict enforcement and high compliance to port regulations by the NSC led to the reduction in vessel waiting time reduced from five hours to one hour.
Head of Freight and Logistics Department of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority (GSA), Fred Asiedu-Dartey, cited the Ghana Shippers Awards as a platform where individuals and groups in the sector are honoured to encourage others to emulate the conduct.
“The Ghana Shippers Award has been instituted and we are putting in some mechanisms to ensure that shippers who are compliant in that regard are duly recognised,” he noted.
He urged other African nations to learn and emulate best practices from each other as operational conditions of the sector are similar.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri