'The fines are compensating for their own lack of productivity'
MSC CHAIRMAN Captain Salvatore Sarno has slammed Portnet for its proposed penalty system (see page 1) which he maintains is based on Portnet's own inaccurate information plus a flawed First Planned First Served policy.
Sarno disputes the effectiveness of Portnet's statistics and maintains that a recent report quoting MSC as under or over-reporting proved to be 80% inaccurate. I held a meeting with port manager Bax Nomvete and his staff and they agreed with me that their statistics were wrong, he said.
In any case, what is the connection between productivity at the Port of Durban and a shipping line reporting a mere 30 or 40 boxes inaccurately, he told FTW in an exclusive interview.
Instead of wasting time studying the supposed mistakes of shipping lines Portnet should become proactive and improve their own productivity.
Sarno questions why a late arrival should be a problem for Portnet. He also says that Portnet closes the gates 12 hours before a ship's arrival, which can mean up to two days before the vessel sails. In Europe ports such as Antwerp accept and load right up until the last minute without problems.
He maintains a First Come First Served policy would serve the interests of both port and shippers far better than Portnet's First Planned First Served idea. If my ship is late thay can slot someone else's into the place allocated. Keep the berths occupied and busy. That's productivity! Sometimes I have ships waiting outside while an adjacent berth lies empty. Their system is wrong and now their solution to a problem of their own making is childish. Where is Portnet's flexibility? They must not impose penalties to make up for their own lack of productivity.
Sarno disputes the report signed by Childs that says representatives of the major shipping lines and industry had agreed to the penalty system. Safmarine and MSC voted against it, he told FTW. Maersk did not object but that's because they use the combi terminal and are not affected. Unicorn is a coastal service and is also unaffected, so how can he say we are all in agreement?
