By UCHE USIM

Princess Vicky Haastrup, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of ENL Consortium, is a dogged fighter, with no room for failure.

Since the emergence of ENL Consortium as terminal operator of terminals C and D at the Lagos Port Complex Apapa in 2006, Princess Vicky Haastrup has taken steps to clean up the terminal by flushing out miscreants, despite threats and influence of entrenched interests. Before then, those undesirable elements had constituted themselves into a major stakeholder’s group at the ports with the authorities looking helpless. Today, the terminal wears a new look and is more conducive for business.

Haastrup is also a strong advocate of women’s right in a male dominated industry, as she stays strong, even when trying to rescue a sinking ship that may be at odds with her best personal interests.

As Chairman of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), Haastrup has ensured the compliance to concession agreement remained sacrosanct.

She attended the Pitman Central College and Holborn College, both in London, and worked at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where she rose through the ranks, attaining the position of Special Assistant to the Minister of Petroleum and Energy before retiring in 2006 after 23 years.

In this interview, she talks more about the company, the Nigerian maritime industry, and more.

Excerpts:

Ports in pre-concession era

The Ports industry has an interesting enterprise since terminal concession was conducted in April 2006. In fact, ENL just celebrated its 7th year anniversary in port operations. We could not take-off when the concession was signed between the operators, NPA and the BPE for some reasons which may not be the focus of this interview. The reason I said the port industry is very interesting is because our experiences in the past seven years have been dramatic. Before we took over of the port, we met a completely run down system. When I say completely, I mean completely in all sense of it. There was nothing on ground. We didn’t meet an organized system in terms of the facilities, labour, development, among others.

Nothing was working. The buildings were dilapidated; the roads were very bad, both the common users roads and the roads leading to the ports. I always tell people that at the ENL terminal, the potholes were like craters. It could even swallow a trailer. So, in 2006, I remember that there were incessant trucks and trailers tipping over when they fall into those potholes within the terminal. There were no equipment to work with, while labour issues were also there. For someone like me, it gave me a lot of challenge. And, of course, we had an obligation to develop the system because it also bordered on increasing productivity in the ports and so, we marshalled out ways to surmount them.

All over the world, experience has shown that government has no business in running business but to create the enabling environment. And this is because there are so many factors that would not allow them to have efficient operations.

So, when we came in, the first thing we identified and mapped out was to develop the port, so that we can discharge vessels efficiently and effectively. By doing this, we know we’ll reduce the time ships stay in the port. But to really do that, we had to provide equipment, personnel, and so on. I must confess to you, the NPA handed to us a little above 60 equipment but they were not functional. As a matter of fact, NPA was renting equipment to operate. You know how much that would cost them in a day. So when we came, one of the first things we did was to send out all those companies that were leasing out equipment to NPA to discharge ships. We procured a lot of equipment. The amount of investment runs into millions of dollars.

Cost of doing business at ports

The concessionaires did not bring about the increase in the cost of doing business at the ports. Of course, people do not want to hear this but that is the truth in the real sense of it. In the port industry, there are so many factors that can militate against reduction of costs of operations. We have so many people who operate within the port system. We have the concessionaire, the port operator, the shipping agents, clearing agents, government agencies that are too numerous in the ports. What I’ll ask you people to do is just compare how much the concessionaires are charging to what is charged in other parts of the world particularly in Europe. The concessionaires have put down a lot of investments for them to carry out efficient operations. For instance, within one year that we took over, we were able to increase the turnaround of vessels by about 75 percent. Within three-four years, we had doubled that. In five to six years, we have increased same by over 200 percent, far more than double. If you do not develop the port or you do not invest in port operations, there is no way you can achieve that.

The dwell time of ships has reduced drastically from 10 days to about three days. To us, that is reduction in cost. This is how it works: those importers or ship chatterers spend a lot of money doing this. So, when you can reduce the dwell time (which is the number of days the ship stays at berth), to them, that has reduced money because the longer the time the ship stays at berth, the more money they pay. So, depending on the type of chartering contract they have with the ship owner, they might be paying so much if the turnaround time is slow.

I remember the first rice ship that we did in conjunction with the NPA (because we had a one-month handover period) when we took over, it stayed 45 days at berth. It was a rice ship and I will never forget that. There was a particular one that stayed 60 days. We can discharge those ships in 12 days today. When a ship enters demurrage, it costs money. So, that we’re able to handle ships efficiently and practically knock down the dwell time of the vessels at berth is clear reduction in operational cost.

At times, people talk about our tariff and I see it is not something out of this world. If you compare our storage, terminal handling tariffs with what obtains overseas you’ll discover we’re still cheap.

When we took over in 2006, NPA was actually collecting more in terms of cargo dues. They brought the concessionaires tariff down by 33 per cent. In other words, they reduced cargo dues by 33 per cent before we took over. NPA was actually doing it for more. Don’t forget, all those malpractices of those days were there before we took over. For instance, if you’re to bring in your ship with a problem, you’ll probably have to pay through your nose and also there was serious congestion in the ports. Congestion today by the grace of God has become almost a thing of the past. As I’m talking to you, I’m the one canvassing for ships. I’m the one waiting for ships to come. I tell you, because of the efficiency in Nigerian ports, Republic of Benin has suffered a lot.

I remember, before President Yar’Adua died, the President of Benin came to Nigeria and asked for help saying that since the ports were concessioned, activities in their ports have reduced drastically. And you know that is a major source of income for that country. the permutation was that because of our efficiency, it now costs much less for people to use our ports, so why go to Benin Republic?

Today, people have forgotten where we are coming from and it baffles me that people forget history. I know Oliver Twist will always ask for more and so our people will always ask for more. Let’s not forget that we have enemies out there, who no matter what we do, will not be pleased.

Like I told you earlier, what is responsible for increase in cost of operations in the ports is not the concessionaires. We have shipping agents out there; we have the clearing agents too and others. So, who’s looking into their activities?

I can tell you, ship agents’ tariff is even higher than terminal operators’ charges but nobody talks about that. There are lots of things we charge that the ship agents are not supposed to charge but they do. Who’s looking at those? Some clearing agents do things fraudulently. There have been instances where people bring their bills to us in ENL and we discover that it has been tampered with. They’ll go and clone/print the letterhead of ENL and slam whatever bill they want to use to cut the throats of their clients. These are all malpractices in the industry. But everyone heaps all the blame on the head of the terminal operator. But the operators, as a matter of fact, are the ones spending money. We are the people that have put down investments in port operations and not the other arms. So, we’re in business and we should be able to recoup our investment.

Job of terminal operator

We’re master stevedores. We discharge vessels and receive ships. We deliver cargo. We store cargo and keep it safe. That’s basically our main functions.

Complaints against STOAN

STOAN, (Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria) as an association is looking at all the complaints everyone is making about us and our operations. But I can tell you that if these complaints are carefully analysed, you’ll see that we’ve done very well in the last seven years. Don’t forget, Rome was not built in a day. We met a completely run down system and it cannot be upgraded in one or two years. It takes time. Of course, even in our concession agreement, we’ve a time frame by which we could complete certain tasks, particularly in terms of development and procurement of equipment etc. There are time schedules fixed for these items. As a terminal operator, I want to boldly tell you that a lot of my association members have fully complied with the terms of the agreement. We know those things that are actually giving us bad name and we’re looking into them. We’re writing to the government to open their eyes to some of these issues, especially those relating to clearing agents and ship agents. We’re sensitizing the government to let them know that most of these issues/challenges do not spring from us. Indeed, I had a forum to air my views on some of the issues because I was a member of one of the Maritime Committees set up by Mr President last year. Some of the things I told the committee were like an eye opener. It’s not about the terminal operators alone, it’s all encompassing.

24-hr port operations

The government ordered all ports to operate 24-hour round the clock. But I can tell you that there are certain factors like security and the environment that are militating against achieving that. In fact, there are certain ships you can’t just discharge at night. Even if you discharge, the truck will not leave the terminal. In fact, let me give you example of what is obtainable in my terminal. For instance, rice cargo, because of security issues, when you discharge such cargo, what the truck drivers do is just park within the terminal. They can’t move because of security challenges. If they attempt to move at night, they’ll be attacked on the road, that much I can tell you. So, government needs to address the issue of security. Again, the environment is not conducive.

Terminal operators are doing 24 hours really and some agencies like Customs are there working 24 hours, but I can still tell you that the 24 hours is not really 24 hours. If you discharge a ship and it cannot move out of the terminal, it remains there. So, what we do is that when we come in the morning, the first thing we do is clear the backlogs including those trucks that have been loaded. So, we discharge the ships but they won’t want to move out of the terminal. So, it’s not really complete 24 hours until the security challenges are addressed.

48-hour clearance of goods at ports

48-hour clearance of goods at the ports is feasible but certain things have to be put in place. The operating environment plays a major role here. How easy is it for trucks to come in and move out of the ports? That’s a major problem. Apapa is always jam-packed. Traffic is another nightmare. So, when the owner of the cargo tells you I’m coming to load, we sit there, we don’t see them. Perhaps they’ve been held up in Mile 2 or Tin can or some place. So, until these things are addressed, it’s difficult to achieve the 48-hour clearance. Unfortunately, the port environment in Nigeria is designed not to make us achieve 48-hour clearance. It’s only in Nigeria that we have this kind of hostile environment within the port system. The port environment should be cleared of all encumbrances and congestion. That’s how it is in other parts of the world. That was how it was before but by the time the government started granting people approvals to situate tank farms within the port environment, that has brought about congestion. So, within the port environment, is not only trucks that are coming to load goods at the port that you have.

You have tankers that have come to load at the tank farms too. So, everybody struggles against themselves. Trucks that are coming to load within the seaport terminals are struggling with tankers. Look at Apapa bridge, you’ll see all those tankers lined up on it. Is that bridge built to withstand that type of pressure? These are all the things we must address. I’ve always said it, I’m an advocate that the tank farms situated within the port environment be relocated. People who granted such licenses or approvals so to speak have not done well. And until some decisive is done, it’ll be difficult.

25-year port development master plan

One of the key issues the master plan should look into is the tenure given to concessionaires. Some concessions’ tenure is as low as 10 years. Some are 15 and some 25 years. Let me tell you this; for people to want to put down their resources and invest heavily in the terminals for it to equate what obtains overseas, you need increase their tenure. It’s only in Nigeria that you have such tenure. If you don’t have long tenure, you’ll just do what you’re obligated to do in the concession agreement. You won’t go the extra mile. From the time we took over till now, we know that there’s more that could be done in our contract with government. But if I have a 10-year concession, how will I be able to recoup any further investment? All that said, for us at ENL, we’ve even spent more what we were obliged to put down. For example, the construction that we have done in the terminal, it’s one that will last for 10 years, it’ll last for 20 years. We’re doing it with the mindset that if we did well, government will be magnanimous to renew our tenure. So, we’re not hesitant but longer tenure will naturally stimulate people to want to put down more.

The master plan should also address the aforementioned issues like environment, security etc. For us in Lagos, the security is not a bad as it is in the South/South region. We should look into labour problems and I thank God that today, labour problem is now a thing of the past. It used to be the biggest issues whereby government had to wade in but that has not happened for many years and that’s because we have a responsible dock workers’ leadership. They have the fear of God and love this country deeply. We have a good relationship now.

The master plan should also look at the role of the NPA. It’s a tripartite agreement. I’ve my responsibility and NPA has its own. It’s a responsibility that is shared by both parties. If terminal operators are carrying out their responsibility and NPA is not, there’s still a problem. NPA’s Marine Services has to be efficient. Though it’s better than before but they can be more efficient that what we have now.

The issue of government agencies’ functions like Customs and others should be addressed for greater efficiency. Customs need to conduct themselves in a professional manner so that clearance for ships can be quicker. There have been cases where a ship berthed and for three days, there was no clearance. We were waiting for clearance. For instance, the issue of brown rice. Government/Customs have been going back and forth on it. Such vessels, when they come, they’ll berth for three days or thereabout accumulating demurrage. So, we need to look government’s policies that will support the growth of the ports and maritime sector in general.

Low cargo turnover 2012/2013

You’re talking about low cargo turnover in 2012, this year’s scenario is worse. This year, in fact few weeks back, there was a week ENL didn’t see any ship. Today, I’ve four ships at berth. Three days ago, I had just two ships. It’s a common problem in all the terminals. Indeed, I’m very happy you asked this question about the cause. Policies of government is affecting the port industry. As you all know, January and February is usually our low season because people wait for budget to be passed before bringing in goods. They need to know which ones are banned and which are not and it is purely a business decision.

So, to address this, our budget needs to be done and passed by 31st of December every year so that we’re operating on new budget in the new year. In fact, in those days, the President used to read the New Year message with budget. Gone are the days. We need to look into that. Our legislatures need to ensure that Mr President gets done with the budget so that when he’s reading the new year message, the budget flows along with it.

Today, what happens is that by February or March, people are still waiting for budget because they don’t want to be caught in between whereby they had placed orders for goods and the ships have left the port of loading heading towards Nigeria, only to learn that the items expected have been labelled contrabands. This becomes a problem. So the importers wait until the budget is read and interpreted before importing. These days, the budget is delayed and this is affecting the ports.

For us in ENL, we have a challenge. Government has suddenly imposed a 100 percent duties on rice cargo and I can tell you that this year, I’ve not done one ship of rice. That has affected us. We’re a multipurpose terminal and as such we’re dependent on general cargo and that has affected us.

Government has banned bulk cement. Government has imposed 80 percent Customs duties on sugar. Is Nigeria producing sugar? Again it has slammed a 100 percent duty on rice. How much of rice are we producing? If you look cost of rice now in the market, it has gone off the roof. And that’s one major source of food for children. I don’t have anything against government banning all these things but it’s something we need to do over time when Nigeria would have met the local consumption demand. What we’re producing right now is not enough. It would probably take us another five years to get there. So, government should look at that.

And I can tell you that the rice is coming in and how is it coming in? From the Republic of Benin through the land borders.

At night, you see a lot of trucks laden with rice coming into the country. Rice importation via that illegal route is booming and Nigeria is suffering. Just last week, I read in the papers where Customs cried out to say it might not meet its 2013 revenue target.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/business/weve-reduced-dwell-time-of-ships-at-port-vicky-haastrup/