An increase in vessel calls at the Port of Beira has ramped up expectations for an increase in export volumes through the Beira corridor in 2019. According to Jonathan Middleton, CEO – warehousing for J&J Africa, this is further supported by an expected increase in the movement of bulk minerals such as chrome from Zimbabwe. And with volumes on the increase the focus this year for the Independent Beira Logistics Terminals & Service (IBLT&S) will be on improving HSES standards within the facilities. “We are committed to the safety of our employees, contractors and clients and are continuously managing and identifying risks or potential risks in order to prevent accidents,” said Middleton. “We have developed an internal HSES management system that is based on the newly introduced ISO45001 industry standard. We conduct biannual internal audits to ensure we are continuously measuring the performance of our facilities and ensuring action plans are in place to mitigate any unsafe practices that have been identified.” Commenting on some of the challenges on the corridor, Middleton said the design of the single window customs system in particular was problematic as it did not allow for cargo arriving in bond or leaving in bond from the hinterland or to the port to be acquitted at the terminal/depot. “It has to be done at the central headquarters of customs in port which means all declarations need to be acquitted at this point causing extra delays,” he explained. “Since each bonded terminal/depot has a dedicated customs official, they could develop the system so that these officials at the depots could acquit declarations of cargo entering or exiting the facilities.” Middleton said they were constantly lobbying with customs to amend the system and create functionality for their officials to acquit customs declarations at the depots.
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We have developed an internal HSES management system. – Jonathan Middelto
