Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC) has warned of the escalating financial and economic burden of the over 100,000 unreturned rickety empty containers littering Nigeria’s ports, saying the country loses over $500 million yearly due to the inefficiencies tied to container management.

In a bulletin released on June 20 and signed by the Head of Research, Dr Eugene Nweke, made available to The Guardian yesterday, the advocacy group described the situation as a “ticking financial and environmental time bomb,” calling for urgent regulatory and operational reforms to address the growing ‘national burden.”

While acknowledging the complexity of calculating exact losses, SEREC outlined key contributing factors, including the high cost of shipping empty containers back to origin ports, estimated at $2,000 to $6,000 for a 20-foot container and $3,500 to $6,000 for a 40-foot container, depending on the route and market fluctuations.

Others include accumulation of empty containers at ports and along roads that leads to congestion, increased storage costs, and potential demurrage fees, which can be as high as N60,000 monthly per unit.

SEREC stated that about 45 per cent of these containers in circulation are considered rickety or unseaworthy, adding that beyond economic losses, the abandoned containers pose serious environmental and health risks to communities.

SEREC also criticised the lack of penalties for delayed container returns, revealing that shipping companies currently impose average demurrage charges of N10,000 daily on Nigerian shippers after the standard grace period lapses.

The centre said this often added up to unsustainable costs for importers already burdened by volatile exchange rates and inefficient logistics chains.

“While exact figures are difficult to quantify, the Importers Association of Nigeria estimates that the country is losing over $500 million annually due to inconsistent exchange rates and other importation challenges related to empty containers,” the group stated.

SEREC recommended that the Federal Government introduce a demurrage tax on a percentage basis on all empty containers not returned within the official three-month period.

The centre stated that such a policy could generate additional revenue for the government, which could be allocated to road maintenance and environmental remediation.