The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is eyeing to increase by a substantial amount storage fees for Customs-cleared containers overstaying at Manila ports to force cargo owners to pull out their boxes and to ease port congestion.
After the usual five days of free container storage, PPA is proposing that cargo owners be slapped with a 938.9% higher fee for storage from the 6th to the 10th day, and an average 844.4% more for storage from 11th to the 15th day.
Other proposed storage fees are as follows:
PPA said its proposals are still subject to public hearing, a process that will take at least two months.
Moreover, PPA warned that overstaying Customs-cleared cargoes will be treated as abandoned and forcibly removed by terminal operators after the 15th day of storage. Containers are considered abandoned 30 days after discharge if no consignee starts processing their release.
Empty containers, on the other hand, should be shipped out of the country in 150 days or face duties and taxes, said PPA.
As of August 1, the port agency said there were 59,177 laden containers in both the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and South Harbor.
Of the total, MICT accounted for 49,003 boxes, of which 4,985 had been cleared by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) but not yet withdrawn. South Harbor had 10,174 containers, 2,572 of which had been Customs-cleared but also not withdrawn.
This means that as of August 1, 12.77% of the total 59,177 containers were still at the two ports.
PPA said port operators have reported that many importers, brokers, and exporters “intentionally delay taking out their containers perhaps due to lack of space in their own warehouses.”
The port agency noted it has issued a circular stating that BOC- and port operator-cleared cargoes will be moved to Batangas and Subic if their owners do not take them out within five days of notice, or after the allowed 15 days of storage.
Moreover, PPA said BOC has “agreed to let the port operators move overstaying containers under their jurisdiction (seized, abandoned, undergoing legal proceedings, etc.) so long as these do not contain rice.”
BOC will also expedite the sale or auction of seized rice to help bring down rice prices, PPA added.
For its part, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has set aside three hectares of land in Clark, Pampanga to serve as temporary container depot for containers under BOC jurisdiction that are being contested, according to PPA.
Earlier PEZA started pilot operation of an off-dock container yard with a 4,500-TEU capacity in Cavite for the exclusive use of its Cavite ecozone locators. PEZA told PortCalls it plans to replicate the depot operation in other strategic PEZA zones.
Other identified off-dock container yards for empties include a five-hectare IRS Eastern-operated depot in Cavitex; a nine-hectare plot owned by PEZA; five-hectare and four-hectare depots in Balagtas and Malvar in Bulacan; Asian Terminals Inc.’s five-hectare facility in Calamba, Laguna; ICTSI’s six-hectare depot in Cabuyao, Laguna that will be operational in 15 days; a 10-hectare area at the CCP complex; and a two-hectare yard at North Harbor.
Weekend clearance
PPA is also asking the private sector to utilize the weekend window for more container pullouts.
Current outflow of cargoes from Manila ports is from 3,500 TEUs to 4,500 TEUs a day during weekdays. This is lower than the 6,000-TEU daily movements before the Manila truck ban took effect in late February, but better than the 3,500-TEU movements per day during the truck ban and before the express trade lanes for trucks opened in June.
PPA noted that weekend movements only average 1,000 TEUs during Sundays. It added that 2,500 TEUs to 3,200 TEUs can potentially be added per weekend “if all stakeholders work together” to significantly reduce backlog.
By the end of May or three months after the implementation of the Manila truck ban, PPA said around 135,000 TEUs have piled up at the ports.
BOC started operating on weekends from June 28 under Department of Finance Department Order No. 45-2014. Land Bank of the Philippines was also instructed to operate on weekends, while terminals are open 24/7.
The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Garment Exporters of the Philippines have expressed interest in moving out cargoes during weekends for two months.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries has also advised its members to utilize the weekend windows for removals.
Aside from weekend pullouts, the government is urging the business community to increase utilization of the ports in Subic and Batangas.
Ship calls at Batangas Port have recently increased, with MCC Transport now calling thrice a week on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Another direct caller, NYK, started calls in July and services Batangas port every Tuesday.
SITC started operations on July 28 and calls on Mondays; APL began on July 30 with Wednesday calls; RCL/PIL started on August 1 and makes Friday calls; and CMA CGM kicked off Sunday calls on August 3.
Container volume at Subic Port, on the other hand, increased in the first seven months of the year, and is nearing its full-year traffic in 2013.
Container throughput at Subic Bay’s New Container Terminal 1 from January to July grew 30.62% to 25,976 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) from 19,886 TEUs in the same period last year.
The jump is seen by many as proof positive that more Northern Luzon shippers are now using Subic as an alternative port to congested Manila.
Regular callers to Subic include Wan Hai, APL, and Swire Shipping. – Roumina Pablo
