By Godfrey Bivbere
Operators in the maritime industry have accused the Maersk Group of gradually building a monopolistic market for it self in the country by creating more favourable opportunities for unit companies to have advantage over other competitors.

Warri Port

Making the claim in an exclusive interview with Vanguard Maritime Report, Chairman of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Apapa Chapter, Olumide Fakanlu, said that latest with the Maersk Group is the freight forwarding outfit which was recently set up.

Fakanlu explained that the APM Terminal, a unit of Maersk which controls the largest container terminal in the country, give the freight forwarding outfit 29 free storage and speed up its clearing processes.

The ANLCA Apapa chapter chairman further disclosed that as a result of these advantages, the unit now goes to all the multinational companies and large companies owned and managed by expatriates, assuring them of faster and less cumbersome delivery of their consignments.

Some of these companies that use to patronise them are switching to the Maersk Group freight forwarding outfit.

He noted that the above in addition to the granting of clearing licenses to multinational companies will result in the complete take over of the business, if concrete and deliberate actions are not taken by government on this issue soon.

Similarly, another clearing agent, Emeka Anderson Okoroafor, also pointed out that the same situation takes place with Maerskline, the shipping outfit of the group.

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Okoroafor explained that Maerskline gets concession in terms speedy berthing space and discharge of their vessels whenever they berth.

Responding to these allegations, Head of Corporate Communication of Maersk Group in Africa, Austin Fischer, said that it is not true at all because each subsidiary of the Maersk Group, stands alone and operates distinctively from the other.

Fischer noted that each subsidiary is in competition with others in their line of business, noting further that these subsidiaries also render services to other clients.

He noted that in situation were such concession takes place, what happens to the other clients of such subsidiary, he queried.

In his words, “So we have you know all those subsidiary brand within the Maersk brand right and now whether we like it or not because each of these brand has different customers and because we are bound by anti competition laws in Europe and in the US we cannot connive that’s why APM Terminal and  Maerskline does not and I repeat does not connive because APM Terminals have other customers apart from Maersk line right and we cannot be seen to be favouring Maerskline or sharing commercial information’s with Maerskline or giving Maerskline preferences because what would happen to the other customers?

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“ So we take it seriously to ensure that even though we have several companies, we treat them like we treat every other customers and that is verifiably. Number two, Denco is a freight forwarding company and it also function as a logistics company and with some other regions around the world, Denco does Custom house brokerage, it does logistics, it does freight forwarding but I’m not even sure that Denco in NIGERIA does as much business.

“Number two, APM Terminals is in the business to make money, why will we give Maerskline and you know that Maerskline has you know have a large amount of the market share so if we give Maerskline all that confession how do we then make money?

“Denco is a separate company, Denco does freight forwarding. It does it for Maerskline like it does for SDV, like it does for so many other customers. It is not a subsidiary of Maerskline, it is a subsidiary of Maersk Group just like APM Terminal is a subsidiary of Maersk, just like Maerskline is a subsidiary of Maersk Group.

“ So we come into the market where there are other freight forwarding companies and they are all competing for business and I can tell you authoritatively we do not give 29 days it is impossible, it is impossible so that is why I am saying that we really need to check the facts,” he concluded.