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Saigon Port waives storage fees for bottlenecked commodities
While it labors to clear congestion on the southern city’s docks, the Port of Saigon has decided to exempt companies from the commodity storage fee.
Saigon Port has been using every one of its berths to clear bulk goods. However, as of May 12, twelve ships reportedly had not cleared their cargoes
At the working session with the press in HCM City on May 13, Le Cong Minh, General Director of Saigon Port, said that bulk goods accounted for 80% of the total 6.5 million tons of commodities going through the port in the first four months of 2009.
Handling bulk cargo requires specialized equipment and a big labour force, which explains why the loading and unloading capacity remains limited. It is the main cause, Minh said, of recent congestion at Saigon Port.
According to Minh, in the first four months of this year, the principal exports handled by the port were mainly sand and sliced manioc, while the main imports were animal feed and fertilizer. At one point, there were 50 ships at the port, though it can serve just half that many at one time.
Saigon Port has been using every one of its berths to clear bulk goods. However, as of May 12, twelve ships reportedly had not cleared their cargoes. Minh affirmed that all goods at the port awaiting loading will be exempted from the storage fee for an indefinite time depending on the kind of commodities.
Minh hoped that with the drastic measures the port is implementing, the turnaround time at the port will be shortened by one-third.
Saigon Port is only one of several port facilities in the HCM City area. Vinalines Deputy General Director Tran Huu Chieu said the docks at Tan Thuan Dong, Ben Nghe, Lotus, Dong Nai and fruit and vegetable ports can also handle bulk cargo, but ships still prefer to dock at Saigon port.
Explaining this, Saigon Port Director Minh said that other ports do not want to accept bulk cargo because it is harder to handle and commands a lower fee than containerized cargo
Chieu said that in the HCM City area, only Saigon Port still charges a low fee to handle bulk cargo. The port’s new investments aim to serve container cargoes.
Meanwhile, in the first months of the year, there were 30 percent fewer container ships going through Saigon Port than in the same period of 2008.
Minh suggests that commodity shippers should think of carrying cargo in containers in order to get the commodities cleared more quickly.
Minh admitted that ‘under the table’ fees have existed for a long time at Saigon Port.
“We have a hot line though which we receive a lot of information about such demands for money and we have taken appropriate countermeasures,” Minh said. “The hot line number is 08 38255600.”
Chieu said at a meeting convened yesterday to find a long term solution to the problems that Deputy Minister of Transport Tran Doan Tho will visit Saigon Port later this week. Tho will lead a working session with all the ports in the south this week, aiming to persuade other ports to receive bulk cargo, and so ease the pressure on Saigon Port.
Ca Hao
vietnamnet
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