5 Effective Ways Of Achieving Speedy Vessel Clearance In Nigeria
What is Vessel Clearance?
Vessel clearance refers to the process of obtaining permission for a vessel to enter or exit a port or waterway. It involves the completion of various formalities and documentation requirements to ensure that the vessel complies with all applicable laws and regulations and is safe to operate.
Vessel clearance typically involves obtaining clearance from a number of different authorities, such as the port authority, customs, immigration, and health authorities. The specific requirements for vessel clearance may vary depending on the country or region, as well as the type of vessel and the cargo it is carrying.
Some of the key factors that may impact vessel clearance include the vessel’s size, draft, and overall condition, as well as the cargo it is carrying and any potential safety or environmental concerns. In many cases, vessel clearance may also involve the payment of various fees and charges, such as port fees, pilotage fees, and customs duties.
Sequel to this, we looked at some of the major errors to avoid in vessel clearance at this point, it’s also important for us to consider effective ways of achieving efficiency in vessel clearance, considering five of the following (among many other) factors:
- Qualified Agent
- Timely Purchase of Ship Entry Notice
- Accurate Assessment of vessel Content
- Review Documentation Checklist
- Bridge Potential Process Gaps
Qualified agent: Since the primary goal of every vessel owner or manager is to cut cost and save time, employing the services of an agent that understands the technical intricacies of vessel logistics is key to ensuring that efficiency is achieved in the vessel clearance process and that the risk of costly delays or potential errors are eliminated.
Timely Purchase of Ship Entry Notice: Ship Entry Notice (SEN) must be purchased and sent to Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) online two months before the arrival of vessel. This would guarantee that the vessel would have a berthing space on arriving the shores of Nigeria. Where SEN is not processed early enough, the vessel will have to queue-up on arrival and incur demurrages which will not only cost money but waste of quality time.
Accurate Declaration of Vessel Content: This is so important that it requires attention to even the minutest detail. As such, the vessel manifest must provide comprehensive and accurate information on the entire content of the vessel. Information such as cargo volume, sizes, weights, shapes, ownership, nature of cargo and the list of crew members submitted to authorities like NPA and Nigerian Immigration Services must be accurate. Once this is achieved, both the logistics agent and the vessel owner are on the right side of the law – completely spared of the costly consequences or sanctions associated with wrong declarations.
Review Documentation Checklist: The importance of drafting a document checklist for a complex operation like vessel clearance cannot be taken for granted. At every point, you must tick-off on documents sent or already used and look out for required documents that have either not been sent used or exhausted. Be it documents required by NPA, NIMASA, Nigerian Immigration and all other authorities concerned, a well-documented checklist of required documents will keep you away from the troubled waters of regulatory Sharks.
Bridge Potential Process Gaps: Every step, action or activity required from start to finish of vessel clearance must be followed within designated timelines. Keen attention to this will help to identify potential process gaps. These steps cannot succeed on their own. They require the appropriate deployment of people and resources to satisfy the requirements of all authorities (as stated earlier); effective communication between vessel owners/managers, agents and all authorities concerned to become a success story in the end.
In view of the foregoing, Fortune Global continues to demonstrate absolute commitment to not only offering best-in-class advisory services in vessel clearance but to the most effective ways of ensuring the efficient management of project or general purpose vessels.
Our clients are rest of assured of our pedigree of:
- Adherence to industry best practices
- 100% regulatory compliance
- Accurate documentation and timely vessel clearance
- Expertise in marine logistics
- Planning and designing efficient logistics workflow for clients to maximize time and cut needles cost.
Read more: Procedure for vessel clearance
