Lines vow to keep an eagle eye on congestion as surcharge goes

ALAN PEAT IT ONLY took a couple of major lines to announce the demise of the US$100 per container SA port additional (SAPA) from May 1 and the dam wall burst, as all the other lines either followed suit, or waited for their principals overseas to officially declare an end to the surcharge. Maersk Sealand, Safmarine, DAL and MSC were the first to announce the demise of SAPA and it can be fairly assumed that all the other lines will also drop the surcharge – or they would be giving the opposition an immediate US$100 per container price advantage. Over the past few weeks, reliable sources have indicated that vessel delays at Durban – the only port at which the surcharge applied – were getting down to not too much above the 16-hour daily running average laid down by the conferences as the point at which the surcharge would be lifted. It's gone, provided that Sapo continues to improve its infrastructure and maintain its better levels of productivity – because the lines will be keeping an eagle eye on the port congestion situation. “We will regularly monitor the situation in all ports,” FTW was told, “and jointly with the relevant authorities continue to work for sustainable improvements.”