Traders mop up pile of containers at Manila port

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) recently urged its members to make use of Sundays to secure loaded containers from the Port of Manila, after the Bureau of Customs opened up a window that would allow traders to make such transactions at the port during weekends.

PCCI president Alfredo M. Yao said in a phone interview that this would help ease the pileup of containers at the port, brought on by the truck ban policy of the city government of Manila.

According to Yao, the BOC must keep this Sunday window open for at least three months before operations at the port could normalize.

There are some 3,000 loaded containers currently at the port, he said, because of the Customs bureau’s decision to hold them due to technical or legal problems. These were on top of the containers that continue to arrive in the country, and the more than 7,000 empty containers that are also taking up space at the port.

Yao revealed that there were proposals to ship the 3,000 containers to the port in Subic to help ease the congestion in Manila.

Shipping lines are also being asked to start picking up the empty containers to further decongest the port.

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, in a separate text message, however noted that there was no proposal yet to ship the pending containers to Subic. He also clarified that traders could only make transactions at the port within a specified timeframe on Sunday.

The BOC two weeks ago opened up the window for releasing containers during weekends, Trade Undersecretary Victorio Dimagiba said. The window will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, but it was not made clear when this will close.

Also, the Export Development Council has requested the Association of International Shipping Lines Inc. (AISL) to extend the free time period in returning empty containers in view of the existing port and road traffic congestion for a period of two months.

In a letter dated June 20 to AISL, EDC cited that the severe congestion at the port and container yards “has prolonged the process of returning empty containers causing exporters to go beyond the free time allotted by the shipping lines…. The congestion in the port resulted in unforeseen negative effects such as additional detention or demurrage fees to the transport and logistics chain of exporters.”

The EDC said that the request would, in effect, “temporarily waive fees on detention or demurrage fees, which is unduly charged to exporters, for the next two months until the situation in the port normalize.”

In February, Manila implemented a policy banning eight-wheelers and vehicles with a gross weight of above 4,500 kilograms from city streets between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.