Shippers' Council introduces Online Portal for Service Providers and Users

... Platform will ensure risk-free and secure business environment - Jime

Kathy Kyari

A website for registering port service providers and users has been launched by the Nigerian Shippers' Council on Friday.

The portal is purportedly intended to have reliable data on port users and stakeholders and to assist in addressing the issue of an influx of undesirable people in the port area.

With the site, port service providers can now be registered entirely automatically rather than manually.

Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime, the Council's Executive Secretary, declared that the achievement marked the beginning of a new era at the organization while speaking at the opening of the platform at the Shippers' Council towers in Lagos.

"The platform we are launching is interactive in nature as physical interface is eliminated. From your desk in your office, you can register your company online without having to visit any Shippers’ Council office as long as you fulfil the requirements and make the necessary payments.”

“The registration exercise is in various categories and attracts a token fee as the motive is not to generate revenue. It is mandatory for all service providers and users to register and obtain a certificate of registration before they can be adjudged as legally operating at the nation’s seaports. It is therefore important to register with the NSC to avoid applicable sanctions,” the NSC boss said.

Jime continued by stating that the new platform ensures a risk-free and secure business environment while also removing the difficulties posed by anonymous port system stakeholders.

In his address, NSC's Director of Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, noted that one of the duties assigned to NSC when it assumed control over the nation's port economy in 2014 was the duty to register all port users and operators.

“NSC offers a lot of services around training, education and capacity building programmes. The only people who will benefit from these services will be those who are registered with NSC,” Agu remarked.

The Know-Your-Customer (KYC) role of the Council, according to Chief Agu, is the online registration. He emphasized that the days of anonymous shippers, untraceable freight forwarders, and other hidden service providers are over.

Additionally, he suggested that going forward, only operators and port users who have registered with the Council will have access to the NSC's Complaints Unit, which handles complaints from stakeholders about port-related issues and provides arbitration services.

The occasion included a step-by-step demonstration of how to register with NSC online, and Hon. Jime, Executive Secretary of NSC, revealed the service's User Guide, which was distributed to all attendees.