ICTSI seeks govt action on overstaying cargoes

THE International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) seeks the withdrawal of cleared cargoes and the disposal of overstaying ones at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) while Luzon is under the enhanced community quarantine.

Christian Gonzales, ICTSI executive vice president, appealed to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases to allow overstaying cargoes at the port to be transferred or disposed to make it more efficient.

“We appealed to help facilitate the immediate approval for the transfer or condemnation of the overstaying container shipments through the Bureau of Customs,” he said.

He likewise asked cargo owners for the immediate withdrawal of cleared reefer vans and other containerized shipments.

“During the enhanced community quarantine, our team at ICTSI has acted as non-medical support for our economy for almost two weeks to ensure that our country’s maritime trade flow is maintained,” he said.

“Despite the difficulties travelling as far as Cavite, Laguna and Bulacan on a daily basis, each and every employee has taken health risks while doing their best to ensure every container that arrives or departs is handled during this difficult time.

Unfortunately, we have now come to a point where it is becoming impossible to operate in an efficient manner,” he added.

Gonzales said there were about 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) in the yard which were overstaying for more than 30 days. Of the total, the 5,400 TEUs of these were uncleared overstaying boxes of which 4,865 TEUs were overstaying and were discharged between 2010 and 2019.

He appealed to IATF to condemn and approve the transfer of all containers that were discharged in 2018 or earlier, immediately bypassing the tedious condemnation and auction process.

“We must act on this after years of debate,” he said.

Gonzales said containers were simply not being removed from the terminal. “We understand that it is unfeasible for some, and many businesses have been temporarily shut down, but without the full support of everyone, we will come to a point when efficient operations will no longer be possible,” he said.

The Manila International Container Terminal

He asked consignees with reefer cargo to withdraw their reefers immediately. On March 14, there were 22,043 TEUs of imports in the terminal, to date, it rose to 36,793 TEUs.

From March 1 to 26, there were 8,201 cleared containers sitting in the terminal. Many of these were food containers. Over 850 TEUs were refrigerated containers.

There were over 21, 387 TEUs waiting for clearance and release that have been discharged after March 1, over 1,400 TEUs of which were reefers.

Gonzales encouraged the use of off-dock facilities for their cargoes to maintain the efficient operations of the port. He added that all cleared boxes over 30 days old,

should have approvals to facilitate the transfer to ICTSI’s external facilities without delay.

“For those unable to take delivery at your own facilities please utilize our offsite facilities in Laguna, Bulacan or Cavite. Special accommodations are available to anyone who utilizes these facilities.” he said.

Gonzales thanked those who made the effort to deliver their cargo these past few weeks. “We will all overcome this crisis but a quick return to economic normalcy will only occur if we all continue to play our part in keeping maritime cargo flowing. The longer we wait, the more difficult it will become. The longer we wait, the more disservice is being done to our country,” he said.