BY LUIS ARAUJO

Improved operations at the Port of Port-of-Spain have led an association of large shipowners to lower a charge levied on the port for congestion.

The Association of West India Trans-Atlantic Steam Ship Lines (WITASS) lowered its congestion surcharge in April from US$75 to US$43 for 20-foot containers. The surcharge for 40-foot containers was reduced from US$150 to US$86.

Both importers and exporters are expected to benefit from the lower costs.

Port public relations manager Betty Ann Gibbons said Monday that the reduction in the container surcharge was the result of the port’s ability to increase its turnaround times—basically how long it takes to load and offload containers.

“This is just a start. We expect to have the surcharge completely removed,” Gibbons said.

WITASS, whose members are CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, CSAV and Hamburg Sued, implemented the surcharge at the Port-of-Spain port as a response to the costs incurred because of slow turnaround times. The association increased the surcharge in January, moving from US$54 per 20-foot container to US$75 and from US$108 to US$150 for 40-foot containers.

The increase would have been partly due to the delays experienced at the port during the Christmas season.

Gibbons admitted that the increased efficiency was due, in part, to the fact that the busy Christmas season has passed.

“That’s part of it,” she said but added that the improved efficiency also came as a result of measures introduced by new port operator Portia Management Services. Portia was in T&T from February and signed a three-year management contract in March.

The PoS Port is not the only port to be penalised for inefficiency. WITASS had also imposed a congestion surcharge at the Kingston port in Jamaica. That surcharge now stands at US$146 per 20-foot container and US$292 per 40-foot container.

T&T Manufacturers’ Association president Paul Quesnel on Monday welcomed the improvements at the port. “There have been some improvements at the port in Port-of-Spain,” he said. “There are still more improvements to be made. Whether those changes can be made before September and the Christmas rush is another matter.”

The port is looking to buy two more RTGs—the cranes that stack containers—but that has not been finalised as yet and delivery time is about nine months.

Quesnel said that while port operations have improved, there are other factors adding to shipping costs.

Bunker fuel surcharges—the charge added by shipping lines to keep pace with rising fuel costs—have been increasing.

“The only thing we have control over is the congestion surcharge. What we have to do is make sure that the operations run like clockwork. A number of things interconnect,” he said, adding that regulatory bodies also need to be efficient, as well as the Customs division.

Delays in processing Customs documents almost caused operations at the port to ground to a halt last Christmas. Delays at that time of year have been a perennial problem.