The Managing Director of GoldLink Investment Limited, Sir Tony Anakebe has hailed the decision of the management of the CMA CGM to remove container deposit requirement for all new bookings with effect from the 21st May, 2025.
The Nigerian Shippers’ Council recently acknowledged the decision by the shipping line noting that the development followed sustained stakeholder engagement and was a significant step towards promoting a more efficient, customer-friendly shipping environment in Nigeria.
Speaking on the development, Sir Anakebe who expressed his joy over the removal, described it as ‘’a wonderful news”, calling on other shipping lines to emulate the action by CMA CGM so as to eliminate the fraudulent activities surrounding the payment.
He noted that freight forwarders pay as high as five hundred thousand and nine hundred thousand depending on the shipping line as container deposit which was a refundable deposit, but in most cases, the shipping lines found it very difficult to refund the deposit and where they did, it took between three and four months to get them to refund it.
His words, “It’s a wonderful development, if other shipping companies should emulate that gesture, it’s a wonderful way to give our business a boost because it will stabilize our finances to enable us execute job with our customers on credit.
“If the other shipping companies should emulate them, it will be good for us because a lot fraud is going on with this container deposit. If you pay container deposit now, some collect five hundred thousand naira while some others collect nine hundred thousand naira. If you drop it with them, most times, in two months, that CMA CGM, what they do is in three to four months, you will not recover back the deposit.
“I thank God so far that CMA CGM has taken a bold step by this action and I call on other shipping companies to follow in that direction.”
Asked if he could confirm that the removal had taken effect at the company, he said, “I can’t say exactly because for sometimes now, I have not worked with CMA CGM. So, I can’t say categorically if the removal has actually come into effect. But I can assure you that other shipping companies like Hapag Lloyd and Maersk Line still collect container deposit.”
On what would now compel the importers to return the empty containers now that the container deposit which has been compelling them to do so had been removed, he asked, “What are you doing with empty containers? There’s nothing any importer can do with empty container. Outside Nigeria, especially in Dubai, nobody talks about container deposit. It is only in Africa that one talks about container deposit and the thing is annoying because you can’t tie somebody’s money down for almost three to four months without paying interest.
“Most of these shipping companies will collect the money, fix it in a deposit account such that it will be accumulating interest for them. This is the problem that we are having with these shipping companies which by the grace of God, this move which the CMA CGM has kick-started will propel others to act in like manner.”
On what is responsible for the delays by other shipping lines in removing the container deposit as being clamoured for by the stakeholders, he said, “It’s because they know what they gain from it. For every five hundred thousand naira, or nine hundred thousand naira dropped with the shipping companies, it will be doubled, if not tripled before they return it to the owner. But the good thing is that the CMA CGM has taken the lead to remove the container deposit.”
Photo: Sir Tony Anakebe, MD, GoldLink Investment Limited.
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