Congestion at harbors<\/p>\n
As an aftermath of the Kobe quake, the impact is felt keenly
\nin Indonesia, thousands of kilometers away. My writing concerning
\nSGS was published in The Jakarta Post on Feb. 7, 1995.<\/p>\n
As I foresaw, the result is congestion at Indonesia's main
\nports, especially Jakarta and Surabaya, where it has been
\nreported that 70 or 80 ships are waiting outside the harbors to
\nunload their cargoes.<\/p>\n
Although the Indonesian authorities have taken the necessary
\nsteps to expedite and facilitate the clearance of goods, we do
\nnot know when things will get back to normal, taking into
\nconsideration that the Yokohama office of SGS has not yet been
\nable to take over the function of its Kobe office.<\/p>\n
We are told by our Tokyo office that the computerized records
\nat Kobe head office have been completely destroyed and it will
\nnot be possible to 'recover' what has been recorded in the 10
\nyears' since its establishment.<\/p>\n
According to the local daily Kompas, Feb. 25, 1995, some of
\nthe steps taken by harbor authorities to expedite and facilitate
\nthe clearance of cargo are:<\/p>\n
* Office hours have been extended to 24 hours per day,
\nnaturally by means of two shifts.<\/p>\n
* Government cargo, raw material for factories and especially
\ngoods categorized in the 'white list' (which need only a banking
\nguarantee for payment of customs duty) can be cleared instantly.<\/p>\n
This congestion in the harbors of Jakarta and Surabaya has
\ngreatly burdened shipping companies and importers. For example,
\nthe 'wharfage' of one vessel, weighing 5,000 DWT (dead weight
\ntons) is US$5,000 a day, or about Rp 10 million a day. Hence, a
\ndelay of clearance of the goods lasting four days means a loss of
\nRp 20 - 25 million, not to mention the cost for the crew of the
\nvessel.<\/p>\n
Therefore, if there is an order for unloading cargo at Tanjung
\nPriok, shipping companies are clearly not enthusiastic to receive
\nsuch cargo. Consequently owners of cargo should reserve an extra
\namount to cover any anticipated demurrage.<\/p>\n
At this stage, it is appropriate to express our appreciation
\nof the efforts taken by SGS-Jakarta, by working 24 hours a day,
\nseven days a week, to overcome the sudden accumulation of work.<\/p>\n
A. DJUANA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/congestion-at-harbors-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }