Shipper calls for review of all port tariffs

Importers can look forward
to significant savings in
Transnet Port Terminals’
‘overstay’ penalties for
refrigerated containers thanks
to two ‘minor successes’
achieved by one of the more
active campaigners for the
rights of port users.
The first relates to the
provision of so-called
‘import free days’. In the
case of Cape Town, Port
Elizabeth and Ngqura, this
has been restored from day
of completion (of discharge)
plus two to day of completion
plus three. This provides
significant relief to port users
and their service providers
when, for example, vessels
complete (discharge) on
Fridays making the last
free day Monday instead
of Sunday, our source
commented. “It applies to all
containers, not just reefers,
and is not a new dispensation
but simply a case of restoring
the status quo prevailing
until a few years ago when
the reduction was arbitrarily
imposed notwithstanding
the legitimate objections of
port users at the time,” he
said. “In plain language –
TPT’s abuse of power from a
position of dominance.”
TPT maintained at the
time that it discouraged port
users from abusing the cheap
storage in the ports. “While
that may have been true in
some instances, it was not
the general rule,” he said.
“Effectively, especially in the
case of Durban, TPT could
then not service the volumes
within the too-restricted time
arbitrarily determined by
themselves, thereby forcing
port users into overstay and
ruthlessly imposing enormous
penalties which turned out
to be a wonderful source of
additional income.”
Port users were therefore
delighted when, after
some years of on-and-off
campaigning, TPT restored
the more manageable day
of completion plus three.
“Ideally we would like
SSHEX (Saturdays, Sundays
and holidays excluded) as well
– which does not preclude
upliftment on those days but
takes into account the reality
of normal working hours of
most (widely fragmented)
cargo owners,” our source
said.
The second success
relates to the reduction of
the overstay penalty for
40ft reefers from R3.510pd
last year to R1.824pd this
year. While this is, in round
figures, a 50% reduction, it
is still not enough, he said.
“Again we view this penalty
as an abuse of power from a
position of dominance which
violates not only two acts of
parliament but the commonlaw
principle of unjust
enrichment too.
“In layman’s terms these
statutes require TPT in this
instance to prove reasonable
cost and there’s no way they
can justify R1.800-odd per
day. If terminal space is as
real a problem as they claim,
TPT can exercise its right to
remove overstays to an outside
customs-bonded facility so
there’s no justification for its
horrendous penalties.
“According to several
credible reports – including
South Africa’s own Ports
Regulator – we are already
among the most expensive
ports in the world,” he said.
“And while 4% may
appear not unreasonable in
an inflationary environment
such as ours (some ports in
other parts of the world have
not increased their charges
in three years – such is
‘competition’!) it’s off too
high a base. This leads us to
believe the entire tariff will
have to be reviewed/re-written
to take reality into account
until which time the ‘tax on
trade’ will continue to stifle
trade contributing to inflation
and wide-scale unemployment
which is a time-bomb waiting
to explode