Cotecna claims Lagos ports underutilise scanners
• Senators suggest more physical cargo exam
There are strong indications that cargo scanning machines installed by destination inspection service providers are largely being underutilised by consignees and their agents.
The Corporate Relations Manager of Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited (CDIL), Mr. Aminu Mohammed, who confirmed this much in an exclusive chat with SHIPS & PORTS DAILY, explained that the two fixed scanners installed by the company, a unit each at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), and the Tin-Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC), respectively, are still handling below their installed capacity.
The fixed scanner at the LPC, according to Mohammed, is meant to scan 400 containers daily, but is currently scanning only 200 containers daily.
He added that the scanner located at the TCIPC is currently doing an average of 150 containers per day, as against the installed capacity of 300 containers.
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Finance is seeking a higher level of physical cargo examination.
The Senate Committee on Finance recently suggested that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) should shun scanning of cargoes and do more of physical examination of cargoes.
The Committee Chairman, Senator Mohammed Makarfi, made this suggestion when he led the members on an inspection of the CDIL facilities at the LPC and TCIPC.
While the committee was being taken through the image analysis procedure and the routing of containers for scanning, Markafi noted that scanning will not reveal the whole content of a container like physical examination.
“From your explanation, what you are looking for is discrepancy and that discrepancy may either be indicative or not so clearly indicative. But physical examination will tell you what exactly it is. It seems the analysis is simply saying what it should be, but which may not be the case. But, surely, there is discrepancy, and that will spark up suspicious investigation, which will tell you exactly what is contained in the container,” Markafi stated.
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