Bad weather, not port congestion, delays shipment release — BOC

Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Isidro Lapeña assured the public yesterday that there is no port congestion in Manila and only bad weather is causing the delays in the release of shipments.

In a statement, Lapeña yesterday denied speculations that the two major ports, the Manila International Container Port (MICP) and the Port of Manila (POM), are experiencing congestion that resulted in the delayed release of shipments.

“Earlier, I went to the International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) container yard to inspect and see for myself the alleged congestion at the ports and I saw that there was no congestion at MICP. Getting the data of yard utilization of MICP, it shows that, at present, it is at 86 percent and that is within the normal operations of the port,” Lapeña said.

The POM, on the other hand, has 88 percent yard utilization – also within normal operations of the port.

The Customs chief blamed the bad weather conditions in the country as reason for the delays in the berthing of ves- sels and unloading of shipping containers in the yard.

He added that the BOC is closely coordinating with terminal operators to be ready for the influx of cargo for the holidays.

“The vessels are arriving simultaneously and the terminal operator cannot accommodate all vessels in the berthing area. They have to wait for their scheduled berthing in the breakwater,” he explained.

Once the containers are unloaded, the BOC’s district collectors have been instructed to expedite the releasing of shipments, especially those containing basic commodities.

He said that a memorandum was issued to all port collectors to expedite the processing of essential food such as rice, sugar, pork and chicken and to closely monitor the movement of vessels anchored in the breakwater. This is to aid supply issue caused by artificial shortage.

“We are issuing alert orders on shipments with derogatory reports to balance our trade facilitation and border protection efforts. All shipments found with no irregularities are cleared immediately,” he said.