The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) over the weekend, Friday, mediated a dispute between the National Shippers’ Association of Nigeria (NSAN) and Maersk Line Nigeria over 14 export containers left at Apapa Port for more than five months, warning the carrier it could be held liable for any deterioration or loss in cargo value.
The tripartite meeting, held at the NSC headquarters in Apapa GRA, Lagos, was chaired by Dr. Obiageli Juliana Saka, Head of the NSC Complaints Unit, who stressed the Council was acting in its statutory role as Nigeria’s maritime commercial dispute-resolution body and not as a court. The Council invited parties to present their positions after a case summary by NSC’s Assistant Chief Operations Officer, Hassan Aminu.
NSAN petition, exporters’ losses
NSAN said it brought the matter to the Council on behalf of affected exporters, including JM Goma International Ltd., Spice Commerce Ltd., El-Tayeb Trading Company Limited., and Rumbu Industries Limited.
DAILY FOCUS NIGERIA, the association alleged the containers, covered under Bills of Lading Nos. 269043419 and 269202570, have been stranded at the terminal for between five and six months, putting perishable agricultural and processed goods at risk of spoilage, breach of international contracts and financial losses.
Maersk representatives acknowledged significant operational disruptions at Apapa Port, describing prolonged vessel waiting times, schedule disruptions and transshipment challenges that forced some services to be rerouted to Tin Can Port. Company officials said a customer advisory of 24 April 2026 and subsequent virtual briefings had informed shippers of temporary routing and operational constraints. Maersk said it had carried out yard clean-up exercises and urged exporters to complete customs formalities to facilitate loading.
Maersk told the meeting that while it had managed to clear substantial export volumes via Tin Can, vessel availability at Apapa remained limited.
The carrier said some containers arrived after vessel cut-off times or had destination changes that complicated allocation. Maersk confirmed five of the 14 containers were export-ready but could not be loaded due to yard congestion; nine others had incomplete export processing at the time.
Council resolutions
After deliberations the NSC affirmed a valid commercial transaction existed between the exporters and Maersk for the 14 containers.
Maersk attributed delays to persistent Apapa congestion and said roughly 1,000 export containers remain awaiting shipment, with no definite vessel availability timeline.
Maersk was ordered to report back to the Council and NSAN on engagements with its head office about deploying vessels to evacuate the affected cargo.
The Council warned Maersk it could be held liable for compensation for any deterioration, loss in cargo value, rejection by overseas consignees, or additional costs arising from the delay.
The 14 disputed containers will receive priority loading as soon as a suitable vessel is available at Apapa.
Maersk was advised to improve customer communications and operational advisories to prevent recurrence.
Both parties were urged to maintain constructive engagement to protect Nigeria’s export competitiveness.
Implications for exporters
NSAN leaders said previous direct engagements with Maersk personnel produced no satisfactory outcome, prompting the Council’s intervention. The NSC’s warned that Maersk may be liable underscores the commercial risk exporters face when port congestion disrupts scheduled shipments.
The Council said it will monitor Maersk’s response and expects regular updates on steps to evacuate the stranded export containers and mitigate further losses.
