By   Godwin Oritse
AS controversies continue to trail the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) project, the  Managing Director of the Ghana Shippers’ Council Mr. Koffi Mbiah has said that projects such as the CTN is usually administered by Shippers’ Councils.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard, Mbiah disclosed in the Nigerian situation, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NCS) should be the agency in-charge of the Cargo Tracking Note project and not the Nigerian Ports Authority.

He stated Cargo Tracking is essentially for owners of cargoes and the interest of cargo owners is invariably protected by Shippers’ organizations in their respective countries .

“In almost all the countries as far as my knowledge goes, it is the Shippers’ organizations which are implementing  the  Cargo Tracking Note and that is why it came to me as a surprise that in Nigeria it is the port authority which is implementing the Cargo Tracking Note”. Mbiah said.

He explained that the cargo tracking note is meant to provide information that will be used for the benefits of importers and exporters who are shippers.

Mr. Mbiah expressed a surprise at the non-involvement of the Nigerian Shippers Council in the implementation of the CTN project adding that that is what is obtainable in West and Central Africa.

He further disclosed that the information provided by the Cargo Tracking Note from cargo, is used to boost  statistics, gives indication as to where a cargo is at any particular point. The Ghanian Shippers’ Council boss also stated that any assistance provided to shippers is dependent on the information from that container.
He also disclosed that the CTN project in Ghana is yet to be legislated, as the legislative process is still on.

He said “In Ghana, we have done the draft law, the draft has gone to the relevant ministry and very soon, I am sure it will go to parliament and then we shall begin to implement it by the Ghana Shippers Authority”.

According to him, Nigeria and Ghana have collaborated on many fronts particularly with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council on issues that bother economic trade especially maritime trade.

“Basically, when the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and its Ghanian counterpart meet at various fora, we exchange notes and this exchange of notes have been very useful in terms of information on how we can execute plans and programmes for the benefits of exporters and importers”.

“When it also come to international legislation, we  meet one another at various meetings for example, recently Ghana and Nigeria met to discuss the United Nation Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and developed a new convention for the carriage of goods by sea, Ghana and Nigeria played a very prominent role in terms of the enunciations of the Rotterdam rules”. He added.

The Container Tracking Note got so controversial that the Senate Committee led by Senator Gbemi Saraki called for a public hearing to determine the involvement of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in the matter.

Saraki also querried the NPA for implementing the project and not the Nigerian Shippers’ Council whose duty is to protect the interest of Nigerian shippers.

As at the time of filling this report, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority disclosed that over N300million have been realized from the project in the last five months.