Cargo pilfering resumes at Tin-Can ports

•Vehicle importers lament losses

Vehicle importers in Nigeria have lamented that this is not the best time to bring in vehicles, following the rise in the spate of vehicle vandalism inside Roll-On Roll-Off (RoRo) terminals at the Tin-Can Island Port in Lagos.

Speaking exclusively with Saturday Tribune, the National President of the Association of Motor Dealers of Nigeria (AMDON), Prince Ajibola Adedoyin, lamented that millions of naira had been lost by vehicle importers due to the theft of vehicle sensors, catalysts, stereos, batteries, side mirrors, inner mirrors, jacks, wheel spindles, spare tyres and brain boxes.

According to Prince Adedoyin, it might not be easy to put a price towhat had been stolen in the port rats at the moment. He said: “Quantifying the loss in terms of monetary value might not be possible for now, but I know it runs into millions of naira because the parts being targeted are essential components of the vehicles. These are vehicle parts which the importer has no option but to replace if he wishes to sell and recoup his investment.”

When asked who should be blamed for the resurgence of port rats who engage in pilfering at the ports, the AMDON President explained that the operators of the RoRo at the Tin-Can Island Port should be held responsible for these nefarious acts.

“When a vehicle is being shipped from anywhere in the world to Nigeria, the safety of the vehicle is in the hands of the shipping company bringing it to the port. If anything happens to the vehicle while onboard the ship on its way to any Nigerian port, the shipping company is held responsible.

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“Same thing applies when the vehicles are discharged at the RoRo port terminals. Once the shipping company offloads at the RoRo terminals at the port, responsibility for the safety of those vehicles shifts from the shipping company to the RoRo operators at the port.

“We all know that since 2006, operations of port terminals had shifted from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to private firms that run and manage the various port terminals as concessionaires.

“So, with what is happening in our ports, it is obvious that the private firms mandated to run the various port terminals, particularly the RoRo terminals, are unable to adequately secure the facilities.

“The issue of wharf rats was predominant during the era when the ports were managed by the government. However, the menace declined after private firms took over port operations. If there is now a resurgence, it means the private firms managing the ports are relaxing in terms of terminal security.

“Imagine a vehicle importer paying N18 million to bring in a vehicle, and when he takes delivery of it, he discovers that he will have to spend another N2 million to replace parts that were vandalised while the vehicle was inside the port. How do we expect the importer to make a profit?

“This is killing the vehicle importation business because there is no way the importer can sell the vehicle above the market rate after spending extra money to replace the damaged parts.

“The port concessionaires should be held accountable for what is currently happening at the ports. The Federal Government has to wield the big stick,” the AMDON President explained.

Efforts to get the two major RoRo port operators at Tin-Can Island Port — Ports Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) and Five Star Logistics Limited — to comment on the matter proved abortive, as calls and messages sent to the Managing Director of PTML, Mr. Ascanio Russo, and the Managing Director of Five Star Logistics, Rigo Nazzari, were not responded to as at the time of filing this report.