Pre-clearance helps streamline cargo movements to Angola

The planning of a sea trade supply chain up the West African coast is a tricky task, with berthing delays causing major port congestion, and seriously affecting freight costs, said Mia February of Robertsons Freight. A familiar example for her of the badly congested coastline is Angola, the speciality shipping destination for the Cape Town-based freight forwarder. February, the export and sales administrator, said that an initial hitch was the time taken by importers to obtain licences and registration numbers from Bureau Veritas. These are required before exporting, and the delays in finalising this vital paperwork often leads to cancellations of bookings with the shipping lines. She added that Robertsons Freight, which has been in operation for 12 years, advises exporters upon quoting that all licence issues must be finalised before bookings can be made with shipping lines, to avoid unnecessary – and costly – inconvenience. Even if this is accomplished, the ports are overflowing with vessels waiting in the queue. “Unfortunately there’s not much we can do to overcome the berthing delays and congestion problems in the ports when they arise,” February told FTW. “But what we do ensure is that the export documentation is 100% in order, so that the importer can arrange pre-clearance to avoid further delays when the container is discharged.”