THE Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) recently
set the basis for assessment of the wharfage fee.
In memorandum circular 05-2007, PPA assistant general manager
for operations Benjamin Cecilio said the assessment should
be based on the total revenue ton per bill of lading or the
total revenue ton per item in the bill of lading.
Imported cargoes in sack, bags, and bulk; uncrated live animals;
steel products; logs and lumber as well as heavy lift shipments
are now charged P36.65 per metric ton. The same cargoes but
headed for overseas markets carry a charge of P18.35 per metric
tons.
Other kinds of imported cargo are at P30.66 per revenue ton,
and other kinds of exported cargo, P15.25 per revenue ton.
For foreign transshipment, a single charge per metric ton
or revenue ton is payable by the shipping line agent. Cargoes
in sacks, bags and bulk; steel products; logs; lumber and
heavy lift are at $0.833 per metric ton and other kinds at
$0.694 per revenue ton, provided the minimum charge is equivalent
to P10.
For domestic cargoes, the PPA is now charging P9 per metric
ton for cargoes in sacks, bags and bulk; uncrated live animals;
steel products; logs and lumber; and heavy lift shipments.
Other kinds of cargo warrant a charge of P7 per revenue ton.
The minimum charge is P15.
The wharfage for all foreign and domestic cargoes, whether
containerized or not, which are loaded or discharged from
a vessel at anchor without using any government wharf or at
an officially registered private port whether operated exclusively
or commercially is half of the government-owned port charge.
The wharfage fee for export containerized cargoes remains
at P20 per 20-footer and P40 per 40-footer until the end of
2007. Imported boxed cargoes are charged P519.35 per 20-footer
and P779.05 per 40-footer. The foreign transshipment charge
is $1 per TEU.
The PPA earlier agreed to extend the 90% cut in wharfage fee
for export products until year-end to cushion the impact of
the strong peso on the country’s export industry.
THE shipping and freight forwarding industries
are working together to mitigate the increasing incidence
of container theft.
Crime syndicates are now apparently using the names of legitimate
freight forwarding companies to make fictitious export bookings
with international shipping lines, Association of International
Shipping Lines (AISL) General Manager Atty Max Cruz told PortCalls.
To arrest the problem in its early stages, AISL invited some
Philippine International Seafreight Forwarders Association
(PISFA) officials for a meeting so that collaborative efforts
in finding solutions can be undertaken by the two organizations.
It was agreed that the AISL member lines would tighten procedures
in accepting bookings. AISL will also be sending the list
of incidents with detailed information to PISFA for dissemination
to its members.
Previous to the meeting, Atty Cruz in a letter to PISFA president
Dexter Yu requested the freight forwarding association to
inform its members “about this new modus operandi of
crime syndicates who use the names of legitimate freight forwarding
companies as cover.”
PISFA executive director Atty Romeo Sto Tomas told PortCalls
the crime syndicates are hitting at the freight forwarding
industry, which operates on trust in many instances. It is
not unusual for staff of legitimate freight forwarding companies
that have long dealings with shipping lines to merely call
and request for containers.
He recounted a recent case when a supposedly “known”
staff of a forwarding company called a shipping line. The
carrier later discovered that the caller pretended to be someone
long resigned from the forwarding company.
Higher capital requirement for forwarders in force by 2008
IT’S final: Philippine Shippers’
Bureau (PSB) Administrative Order (AO) 6 or the Revised Rules
on Freight Forwarding will be implemented starting January
2, 2008. This after the PSB and the Alliance of Concerned
Freight Forwarders (ACFFO) settled their differences on the
new paid-up capital requirements at last week’s public
consultation on proposed amendments to AO 6.
ACFFO, composed mainly of small and medium-scale freight forwarders,
have earlier asked for lower capital requirements and a deferment
in the AO’s implementation schedule. It said the new
rule will kill locally owned freight forwarding firms, leaving
the business to multinational firms.
PSB executive director Atty. Pedro Vicente Mendoza, in an
interview after last week’s consultation, told PortCalls
only a few kinks remain but most issues, particularly the
biggest one on paid-up capital, have been ironed out.
“We expect to come out with the final draft AO this
month to be forwarded to the Office of the Trade Secretary
by the end of the month. By November we expect this to be
approved and published in time for implementation at the start
of next year,” Mendoza said.
“As far as the paid-up capital is concerned, we see
no more problem. However, we are still hoping that the PSB
will consider our petition to extend the transitory provision
to January 2010,” ACFFO president Edith Munoz said.
“Aside from that, we okayed everything,” she added.
Based on the proposed amendment to the AO, specifically Rule
XII, Section 52, all new entrants to the freight forwarding
business whether non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCC),
international freight forwarders (IFF) or domestic freight
forwarders (DFF) should have complied with the new capital
requirement for their respective category by January 2, 2008.
The new capital requirement for NVOCCs is P4 million from
the previous P500,000, and for IFFs, P2 million.
Existing NVOCCs have until January 2, 2009 to comply with
the ruling. Fifty percent of the new capital requirement should,
however, have been complied with by January 3 next year and
the rest by January 2, 2009.
Existing DFFs are also given until January 2, 2009 to comply
with the new requirement of P1 million. The figure was increased
from P250,000. DFFs should also be 100% Filipino-owned.
The Port Users’ Confederation and the Philippine International
Seafreight Forwarders Association, supporters of the increased
paid-up capital, declined to give a statement on the impending
implementation of the new rules.
Early this year, the PSB deferred implementation of the new
requirement to January 2008 from January 2007 to give the
Department of Trade and Industry task force time to study
the accreditation process for forwarders. The move is also
consistent with transitory provisions of the AO which provides
that compliance with the capital requirement in Section 4
(A)2 shall be made within two years from effectivity date.
THE committee formed to police charges billed
by shipping lines is eyeing either an executive order (EO)
or a legislation that will make its recommendations mandatory.
Atty. Pedro Vicente Mendoza, a member of the special review
body on shipping and port cost, said any of the two would
concretize functions of the committee and ensure efficient
implementation of any measure it proposes.
“But for practicality, the body will more likely bat
for an EO. The EO will make mandatory all recommendations
to reduce logistics costs. Hopefully by next year, we could
see a reduction in the shipper’s bill,” Mendoza
said.
Headed by Trade Secretary Peter Favila, the committee just
concluded its study on shipping charges and will meet this
month to finalize its recommendations, including elimination
of what it describes as unnecessary charges by carriers such
as the terminal handling charge, container cleaning fee, container
deposit fee, container insurance fee, and administration recovery
cost.
The committee is also looking at other charges implemented
by state-owned Philippine Ports Authority and other private
ports.
The government through the Department of Trade and Industry
has been trying to reduce shipping costs particularly to help
exporters gain ground in the international market. It has
so far reduced by 90% the wharfage fee billed by PPA.
THE Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)
has indefinitely moved bidding for its New Container Terminal
2 (NCT-2) and has instead prioritized bidding for the Naval
Supply Depot (NSD).
SBMA said the decision averts an expected decline in cargo
volume after International Container Terminal Services, Inc.
(ICTSI) vacated NSD when the company bagged management control
for NCT-1 at the middle of the year.
NSD is open to private sector developers, including foreign
proponents, for conversion into a general cargo center. The
facility is able to handle approximately 100,000 TEUs.
The NCT-2, on the other hand, would be auctioned through international
bidding by end 2008.
The winning NSD bidder will manage the terminal for 25 years.
The Freeport is on $215-million modernization project that
includes the construction and development of two new container
terminals.
ICTSI subsidiary Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC),
operator of NCT-1, will sink in P500 million into the facility.
Based on the development plan of NCT-1, SBITC will add four
rubber-tired gantries, 22 prime movers, five fork lifts, three
yard vehicles and three company vehicles once the 250,000-TEU
port capacity per annum is reached.
With the new terminals, SBMA expects to double container traffic
to 150,000 TEUs in the first year of operations, and by another
100,000 TEUs starting the second half of
PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo last week visited
International Container Terminal Services, Inc.’s (ICTSI)
terminal in Shandong Province as part of her two-day state
visit to the People’s Republic of China.
The president visited the Yantai Rising Dragon International
Container Terminal (YRDICT) to see the Philippines’
first foray into the Chinese port market. ICTSI is the only
Philippine company to gain a foothold in the highly competitive
Chinese port market.
The president was welcomed by ICTSI and YRDICT officers led
by Enrique K. Razon Jr., ICTSI chair. After a brief viewing
of terminal developments, she signed the terminal’s
guest book and later posed with ICTSI and YRDICT officers
and with Shandong Province and Yantai City officials for a
souvenir photo.
In January 2007, ICTSI, through one of its holding companies
ICTSI (Hong Kong) Ltd., signed a joint venture contract with
Yantai Port Group Co. Ltd. and SDIC Communications Co. to
buy 60% of the shareholdings of Chinese port operator, Yantai
Gangtong Container Terminal Co. Ltd. (YCT). YCT had been managing
the Yantai Gangtong Terminal in Shandong Province. Yantai
Port Group and SDIC, both state-owned corporations each retained
20% shareholdings in YCT.
The joint venture contract, with a term of 30 years, was approved
by the People’s Republic of China in March of the same
year. The conversion of YCT into a Sino-foreign joint venture
enterprise under PRC laws was also approved. ICTSI subsequently
renamed YCT to Yantai Rising Dragon International Container
Terminals Ltd. (YRDICT).
One of the leading terminals in China, Yantai has been experiencing
rapid growth in containerized and ro-ro cargo. It is at the
eastern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, bordering the Yellow
Sea and Bohai Bay, and lies across the heavy industrial base
in northeast China as well as South Korea and Japan. The port
area consists of three parts: Zhifu Bay, Western Port and
Penglai Port.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently made a short stop at the Yantai Rising Dragon International Container Terminal (YRDICT) in Shandong Province, China. YRDICT is operated by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). Photo shows the president flanked by Enrique K. Razon Jr. (left), ICTSI chairman, and Bo Zhou, Yantai Port Group chairman.
Customs admin students' "live" experience with VASP system
GRADUATING students enrolled in the customs
administration course at the Asian Institute of Maritime Studies
(AIMS) recently achieved a rare feat, one that will never
be replicated anywhere – a whole day “live”
experience to stress test a value-added service provider (VASP)
system undergoing technical evaluation by the Bureau of Customs.
A group of twenty students on the final year of their four-year
course on Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration (BSCA)
in AIMS were recently mobilized as data encoders during stress
testing of a VASP system. The activity essentially involved
volumetrics testing, a standard IT software development lifecycle
activity. A system undergoing this type of testing is expected
to demonstrate technical capability to handle the specified
transaction volume during the given period and provide accurate
software results.
The students were deployed in three sites: the Internet café
inside the Port Users Confederation (PUC) Center in South
Harbor, Snappy Copy internet café at the ground floor
of BF Condominium Building in Intramuros, and Netopia internet
café in Intramuros. This deployment was part of the
testing strategy since the VASP software is designed to operate
as an Internet-based system.
These future customs brokers may not fully realize it but
their “live” encounter with a VASP system gave
them a pioneering opportunity to experience what will soon
become the standard in conducting electronic transactions
with customs – the global best practice of “value
added service provider”services.
AIMS was registered in August 1993 as a non-stock educational
institution, and was issued government accreditation by the
Commission on Higher Education to offer Customs Administration
and Merchant Marine Courses. It is located on Roxas Boulevard,
Pasay City. — Leo V. Morada
THE Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)
has forged an agreement with logistics company 2GO to lend
funds to trucking operators working with the company.
Under the 2GO-RoRo truckers loan program, the DBP is opening
its P20-billion credit window under the Sustainable Logistics
Development Program infrastructure and logistics sector to
truckers servicing the logistics company.
As it is, the bank has already released 160 trucks for 2GO’s
three trucking operators worth P164 million.
Truckers pay the bank a fixed interest of 8.5% per annum for
five years.
2GO also has to guarantee that the trucker has an existing
contract with the company. DBP approves applications of truckers
with at least one-year service with 2GO.
The total number of 2GO trucks used for ro-ro services is
expected to increase to 600 from the current 400. The number
includes the 160 trucks financed by the DBP.
In 2004, 2GO only operated 50 ro-ro trucks.
