Causes of Container Pile-up at Tanjung Priok According to Purbaya
Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa inspected 3,100 containers piled up at the Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on Saturday, 6 June 2026. He identified several causes for why these imported goods are being held up at Tanjung Priok.
The inspection was conducted after the State Treasurer received complaint letters from several entrepreneurs. “Some entrepreneurs have complained about disruptions to the supply of raw materials and have noted an increase in dwelling time,” he stated in North Jakarta.
Purbaya conducted the inspection accompanied by the Director General of Customs, Djaka Budhi Utama. Upon inspection, he found that one of the primary causes of the pile-up is the actual increase in the volume of incoming or imported goods, which has resulted in a slower outflow of goods from the port.
The former Chairman of the LPS Board of Commissioners has also prepared solutions, including increasing the number of officers to assist with goods administration. Personnel have been instructed to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across two shifts. With this increase in personnel, it is hoped that the number of held containers will drop to approximately 500.
Furthermore, he discovered another cause: goods that have already cleared administrative issues are not being collected by importers, leading to them being piled up for months. “Perhaps because the fines are cheaper, they simply leave the goods here. As a result, the port becomes full,” said Purbaya.
He suspects that some importers are intentionally leaving their goods stored at the port because the fines are relatively low compared to the cost of renting external warehouses.
To address this issue, Purbaya has instructed Djaka Budhi Utama to create specific regulations, which will include additional fine sanctions for importers who leave their goods at the port for too long.
According to him, the increase in imports is a positive signal for the economy. However, he will not allow these goods to simply pile up at the port. “The important thing is that when the domestic economy increases and imports increase, we must ensure that no bottlenecks occur here. We want to ensure that logistics costs remain controlled.”
Purbaya has not yet confirmed the specific types of goods piled up. However, based on preliminary observations, some of the goods in the inspected containers include raw leather, blender parts, rubber mattresses, and marble.