Bulog's ships hit by port delays

Bulog's ships hit by port delays

JAKARTA (JP): At least 29 cargo vessels carrying imported
foodstuff ordered by the National Logistics Agency (Bulog), much
of it perishable, were waiting to be berthed at ports in Jakarta,
Medan and Surabaya over the weekend.

According to Bisnis Indonesia daily, three vessels were lining
up to berth at Belawan, North Sumatra, 19 at Tanjung Priok,
Jakarta, and seven at Tanjung Perak, East Java.

The daily quoted the head of Bulog's North Sumatra branch,
Moch. Santoso, as saying that MV Feng Yang, a vessel which
recently berthed at Belawan, had to wait one month before it was
attended to by the port administration.

Santoso said the ship, which carried Bulog's stocks of
imported rice, arrived at the port early February but was only
able to berth last Wednesday.

In Tanjung Priok, 10 vessels are carrying rice, eight are
carrying sugar and one is carrying soy beans.

In Tanjung Perak, the seven vessels which are waiting to berth
are carrying 95,000 tons of rice and sugar belonging to Bulog's
East Java branch. The ships arrived at Tanjung Perak on March 2.

The report did not state whether the delays were causing
shortages in basic food supplies. Bulog is known to have
accumulated stock piles and imports are chiefly to replenish the
stock rather than for immediate consumption.

Several explanations for the delays have been suggested and
some have said Bulog must take some responsibility too.

Port officials said some of Bulog's vessels arrived almost
simultaneously, causing major congestions at the country's three
main ports.

PT Pelabuhan Indonesia III, the state-run company which
manages ports in East Java and Kalimantan, said the low
efficiency of cranes in the ports was to blame for the delays.

Bulog chairman Beddu Amang admitted that the arrival of
several ships at once is making it difficult to handle the
unloading but he blamed the ship operators for the situation.

Beddu also said that Bulog is expecting more food shipments in
the coming weeks.

Earlier reports stated that in Tanjung Priok, Bulog at one
time could not unload its imports because its warehouses were
packed with goods owned by a private company.

Ship operators, meanwhile, are complaining that the long
delays are costing them a lot of money. The waiting cost is
currently US$5,000 a day for vessels under 5,000 deadweight tons
and $10,000 for bigger ships.

Some news reports stated that the delays have caused some of
the foodstuff to deteriorate.

Kompas reported that 5,900 tons of rice imported from India
were found rotting on board the MV Sun River at Tanjung Priok.

Another vessel, the MV Primonik, was fumigated last week after
the port's quarantine officials found a pest, known as kumbang
khapra, which is hazardous to people's health.

The Primonik entered the port's waters on Feb. 13 but was only
able to berth on March 1. (pwn)