Nationwide strikes cause complete shutdown of Nigerian terminals

13 Jan 2012 - Shipping, Terminal Handling

• Virtual standstill at Nigerian ports since strikes began on Sunday

• Nigerian workers are protesting over the government’s removal of fuel subsidies

Industrial strikes across Nigeria have caused the virtual standstill of the nation’s ports and terminals, according to a senior Maersk Line official.

Maersk Line, the world’s largest ocean carrier, has been unable to call at Nigeria’s ports since nationwide strikes begun earlier this week, according to Sonny Dahl, Maersk Line’s Director of West Africa Services.

“Everything is at a standstill - there are no operations going on and everything is at a general strike level,” Dahl told Reuters.

Terminals at Nigeria’s largest port in Lagos have been closed since Sunday.

Nigerians have taken to the streets of the West African country to protest the government’s decision to remove popular fuel subsidies. As a result the price of petrol has more than doubled.

Eight Maersk vessels have been affected by the disruptions with a number of ships currently anchored outside ports.

“They are carrying consumer goods of various kinds and foodstuffs,” said Dahl.

If strikes continue into a fifth or even sixth day then shipping lines will have no alternative but to begin re-routing and skipping Nigerian port calls, according to Lloyds List.

“We are consistently evaluating whether we should divert any of them to other ports (outside of Nigeria). For now, we have made a plan until early next week that we wait outside. It's anyone's guess when the strike will end,” added Dahl.

West Africa relies on Nigerian ports for around 60 percent of its total container imports, according to Maersk Line.

The country’s main oil union will also attempt the complete shutdown of Nigeria’s oil and gas operations on Sunday. Oil Industry officials told Reuters that they doubt union members will be able to bring all of Nigeria’s oil production to a halt, but even a minor stoppage could have dire consequences for Nigeria’s economy.