SAN Chairperson, Mrs. Boma Alabi, gave the clarification in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.
Alabi said the association considered some of the claims against the tariff adjustments to be inaccurate and misleading.
She stated that the approval was granted by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in line with its statutory regulatory mandate.
According to her, the tariff review process lasted nearly two years, involving extensive scrutiny and consultations with key industry stakeholders.
Alabi noted that shipping companies submitted detailed cost analyses to justify the proposed adjustments.
She explained that the submissions were evaluated against prevailing economic realities, including inflation and foreign exchange volatility.
The SAN chair clarified that the approval was not applied uniformly across all shipping operators.
“Only companies that met the regulatory requirements were granted approval for the adjustment,” she said.
Alabi described the tariff increase as modest, stressing that it remained below the cumulative inflation rate over the review period.
She added that the adjustment was necessary to address rising operational and logistics costs within the industry.
Alabi observed that other stakeholders across the maritime value chain had also reviewed their charges upward.
She called for sustained dialogue and urged stakeholders to channel concerns through appropriate regulatory frameworks. (NAN)