Operators of vessels calling at Lagos ports lose over $250,000 on a single ship before cargo discharge even begins, a problem caused by prolonged waiting times.

Maritime stakeholders who disclosed this raised concerns about the growing financial burden, warning that persistent delays are eroding operators’ profits, disrupting logistics chains, and undermining port efficiency.

The concerns followed a recent case involving vessel-tracking data monitored by Coastalynk Technologies Limited, in which a vessel spent 280 hours, equivalent to 11.6 days, at the Lagos Outer Anchorage, waiting offshore before securing a berth for discharge operations.

Chief Executive Officer of Omnis Marine Nigeria Limited, Olayinka Alegbeleye, explained that a 280-hour waiting period represents far more than a scheduling setback, translating into substantial financial losses for vessel operators.

He said applying a conservative Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rate of $22,000 per day to the 11.6-day waiting period translates into over $250,000 in lost vessel earning capacity and unutilised asset capital, entirely burned before discharge even commences.

Alegbeleye described the situation as a severe operational and financial burden for shipowners and charterers operating at the port corridor.

He stressed that the figure excludes additional costs such as fuel consumption, crew expenses, insurance obligations, port-related charges and the ripple effects on cargo delivery schedules.

According to him, such delays have heightened the importance of data-driven maritime solutions and a forensic auditing framework capable of identifying operational bottlenecks and reducing commercial contract disputes arising from vessel waiting times and operators.

Alegbeleye noted that while technology platform integration can provide an accurate, real-time layer of visibility into vessel positions and dwell time, converting this information into actionable legal and operational insights for demurrage risk management models remains critical for protecting operators’ margins.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Coastalynk Technologies Limited, Yahaya Tijani, said the 280-hour waiting period reflects the reality faced by many vessels operating in the Lagos Outer Anchorage before discharge commences.

He explained that the company’s monitoring system tracks every vessel’s movement, queue positions, dwell times, actual hours spent offshore, and vessel movement patterns, providing real-time empirical evidence of port and queue patterns at the Lagos Outer Anchorage.

According to him, the impact of anchorage delays extends far beyond vessel operations, affecting multiple shipping segments, creating inefficiencies throughout the logistics chain with significant hidden costs routinely absorbed by operators.

“That is how long one vessel waited at Lagos Outer Anchorage before discharge began. Burning fuel offshore, accumulating costs and keeping cargo idle on the water. The TCE framing puts real numbers on what operators are silently absorbing every cycle. The full cost is rarely captured,” Tijani stated.

According to Tijani, delayed vessel discharge affects barge windows, depot planning operations, cargo evacuation plans and inventory management, creating hidden costs that are rarely reflected in conventional accounting models.

Also speaking on the issue, a maritime analyst, Adeyemi Samuel, warned that failure to address vessel delays at anchorage could worsen congestion across Lagos ports and significantly affect barge operations.

Samuel estimated that if the current situation persists, delays during barge loading and unloading operations could double the waiting periods currently recorded at the ports.

He, however, attributed the recurring delays at the anchorage primarily to lengthy clearance processes handled by ship agents and inadequate storage capacity at depots within the Lagos port system.

The maritime analyst called for measures to streamline vessel clearance procedures and expand storage infrastructure to ease pressure on port operations and improve turnaround times.