The Association of Off-Dock CFS Operators of the Philippines (ACOP) will be charging its clients additional trucking costs to be incurred for transferring empty containers to Batangas, Bulacan, and Cavite, as container yards in Metro Manila are now full.
In a letter dated June 18 and addressed to the United Portusers Confederation, ACOP president Alexander Ong said the association has “no recourse” but to charge their clients for the additional transport costs.
The move was fueled by advisories from three shipping lines saying clients will have to return empty containers to yards outside Metro Manila.
Ong said earlier that container yards and container freight stations are completely filled with empty container vans as the Manila truck ban continues.
Early this month, the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) decided to shut down its empty container depot to give space to laden containers, another consequence of the truck ban policy.
Identified depots outside Metro Manila include the following:
- IRS Eastern, Inc. Kawit Cavite Offdock Depot
- Trans-Ocean
- Jamvic
- Manila North Harbour
- Manila International Port (double transactions only)
- IRS Eastern, Navotas
- IHTC Bulacan
- Inland Clearance Depot, Calamba
- Asian Terminals Inc. Batangas
Only 21,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of empty containers can be accommodated by the existing depots, according to Atty Maximino Cruz, general manager of the Association of International Shipping Lines.
He told PortCalls, the “compelling need to find alternative depots in Metro Manila or even outside Metro Manila is because of the inadequate number of such facilities we have at present,” adding that as trade volume grows, “the desire to expand no longer becomes a matter of choice but a matter of necessity.” – Roumina Pablo
Image courtesy of joesive47 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
