Port havoc may lead to extra costs<\/p>\n
By Prapti Widinugraheni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Foreign shipping companies are threatening to
\nimpose additional charges on importers of up to a total of US$70
\nmillion a year if congestion at the Tanjung Priok port does not
\nabate.<\/p>\n
Chairman of the Indonesian Importers' Association (GINSI)
\nAmiruddin Saud disclosed yesterday that, although foreign
\nshipping companies had not yet made the threat officially, they
\nwould not hesitate to do so if conditions at Indonesia's main
\nport of entry did not improve by the middle of this month.<\/p>\n
\"There is no other way to deal with it than by improving the
\nport's poor performance as soon as possible,\" Amiruddin, who was
\nin Washington for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
\nmeeting on transportation, told The Jakarta Post in a telephone
\ninterview yesterday.<\/p>\n
He explained that in addition to the regular terminal
\nhandling costs, surcharges of $200 would be imposed on each 40-ft
\ncontainer and $100 on each 20-ft feet container shipped by
\nforeign companies and docked at the Tanjung Priok port.<\/p>\n
He said that GINSI, which currently has 2,393 members, had
\nalready protested against the planned surcharges but admitted
\nthat the only way to avoid their imposition was to improve port
\nservices and facilities.<\/p>\n
Importers are currently required to pay a terminal handling
\nfee of $125 for a 40-ft container and $75 for a 20-ft container.<\/p>\n
The Kompas daily quoted Secretary General of the Indonesian
\nNational Shipping Association (INSA) Barens Saragih as saying
\nrecently that the lengthy period of time needed for ships to dock
\nat Tanjung Priok -- up to five days or more in some cases -- had
\nincreased the prices of imported goods by up to 20 percent.<\/p>\n
Causes<\/p>\n
Barens said the causes for the delays included heavy red tape
\nand poor management at the port. He accused port managers of
\nbeing unresponsive to INSA's request that it review cargo-
\nhandling procedures.<\/p>\n
Amir Harbani, president of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II, which
\nmanages the port, put the blame on shipping companies which, he
\nsaid, failed to present on time the documents required to dock at
\nthe port.<\/p>\n
The daily quoted Harbani as saying that there were cases in
\nwhich ships did not have the customs, immigration and quarantine
\n(CIQ) papers required for entry, while others did not have an
\nagent to manage the incoming and outgoing cargoes.<\/p>\n
Concurring with Amiruddin, an executive of a private shipping
\ncompany, who requested anonymity, told the Post that congestion
\nat Tanjung Priok was mainly caused by inadequate port facilities,
\nbut added that the cement crisis earlier this year -- which
\nbrought in large amounts of imports -- worsened the situation.<\/p>\n
He said that Tanjung Priok, which has not been expanded or
\nrenovated since colonial times, needed to be upgraded to meet
\nmodern standards and increasing development demands.<\/p>\n
\"The port should be renovated so it can accommodate large,
\nmodern fleets with drafts reaching up to 11 meters,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He explained that Tanjung Priok's docks had varying depths,
\nforcing larger ships to anchor offshore before they could be
\ngiven a space with the suitable depth at the pier.<\/p>\n
He said it was naive to think that the delays were caused by
\nincomplete shipping documents because shipping companies, through
\ntheir agents, would have taken care of the papers at least two
\ndays before their ships entered Tanjung Priok.<\/p>\n
\"These (CIQ) are standard documents which would have been
\npresented at every port before arriving in Jakarta. Besides,
\nships are now equipped with modern telecommunication instruments
\nwhich allow them to conduct active communications with their
\nagents and the port authority,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The executive said that a ship's operational costs, either
\ndocked or operated, ranged between $10,000 and $15,000 a day.
\nConsequently, delays cause serious financial losses.<\/p>\n
The head of Pelabuhan II's public relations office, Harry
\nSutanto, said in a statement made available to the Post on
\nTuesday that over the last five years the number of incoming
\nships had increased by about six percent per year, with 11,130
\nentering in 1990, 12,106 in 1991, 12,359 in 1992, 13,525 in 1993
\nand 12,733 in 1994.<\/p>\n
Over that period, he said, the volume of goods entering the
\nport had increased by 12 percent each year, with 26.8 tons of
\ngoods recorded last year.<\/p>\n
Harry said there was currently also an unexpected trend of
\nships' sizes increasing (in gross tonnage terms) and that there
\nwere more ships carrying essential goods, such as cement and
\nrice.<\/p>\n
The port currently has docks with a total length of 10,474
\nmeters, with waters of varying depths for both conventional and
\ncontainer vessels.<\/p>\n
Harry said that to cut back the length of the waiting time,
\nmore docks and facilities would be added, including four harbor
\ncranes which are to start operating in September.<\/p>\n
He said that longer working hours of the port authorities had
\nbeen introduced and attempts were being made to improve
\ncoordination between related offices, as stipulated in a decree
\nissued by the minister of transportation last May.<\/p>",
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