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Northport, at Port Klang has taken the
initiative to defer the implementation of the
reduction in the free storage period for
containers, effective 1 November 2007, following
requests from shipping lines and port users.
The changes in reduction in the free storage
period from 5 to 3 days for inbound containers
and from 7 to 3 days for outbound containers and
the lowering of the free storage period for
transshipment containers to 14 days from 28 days
were made by Port Klang Authority, with the
approval of the Ministry of Transport recently.
PKA, the government port regulatory agency, in a
RECENT circular announced the implementation of
the changes in the free storage period would be
enforced from 1 November, 2007, a move which
caught shipping lines and port users by
surprise.
The port users’ – including the International
Shipowners’ Association and the Malaysian
Shipowners Association - were opposed to the
short notification rather than its content or
purpose, which otherwise was well intended to
reflect improvements in the delivery systems at
the port operating terminals in Port Klang.
Acceding to appeals by the shipping lines and
port users, and taking into account the
logistics problems the short notification on the
reduction in the free storage period may create,
Northport (Malaysia) Bhd has consented to defer
its implementation.
The port operating company’s move is also aimed
at bringing certainty and greater transparency
in the implementation and enforcement of rules
and regulation, in particular since Northport is
the market leader for domestic import and export
containers and is keen to avoid any disruption
in the country’s expanding global trade.
The reduction in the free storage period, which
is primarily aimed at achieving greater
efficiencies in the delivery system following
progresses in the documentation and cargo
process flows at Port Klang, will now come into
effect 1 June 2008.
The lead time of seven (7) months is expected to
assuage the fears and concerns of the port users
who must take necessary measures to ensure that
the containers do not idle or dwell beyond the
free storage period.
The extend of container dwelling time at a port
is often a measure of the efficiency in the
delivery system involving the port as well as
the landside systems that includes the Customs,
haulage and related documentary processes.
Containers dwelling beyond the free storage
period will attract charges on a graduated scale
based on the number of days under PKA tariff. |
