Correction Notice: The previous article carried a picture of an MSC container. The use of this photograph was in error for which we apologise. The detained container was not an MSC container.
A container detained for a random customs check by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) at the Port of Durban ended up costing an importer R32 000, despite Sars not being able to conduct its inspection at SA Container Depot (SACD).
Now, saddled with a bill of R22 000 in detention and demurrage (D&D) charges and a further R10 000 in “ancillary fees”, the shipper in question says his business has been compromised by an unnecessary delay with a punishing bill to boot.
His freight forwarder, Rapple Logistics, has already told him there is nothing that can be done as Maersk, the carrier in question, and SACD won’t budge about costs stemming from a container idling in limbo.
“I just have to pay, and that’s it,” he said.
Closer inspection though reveals once more why shippers and agents are constantly complaining about stiff D&D charges that are simply passed on by the liner trade and container concerns.
The shipper, an importer of plastic substrates for the printing industry, said his container had been seized midweek, and when Sars arrived a couple of days later, they could not conduct their investigation because of internal issues at the depot.
In between, Youth Day added to the delay.
When Sars returned to SACD, they were again turned away because apparently the container could not be unpacked.
Eventually, said the shipper, Sars got fed up and decided to release the container.
“So why am I the one who has to pay for this?” the shipper asked.
“I told them from the start the container is a direct point-to-point, full container load shipment and there’s no need to investigate the cargo. They nevertheless went ahead, held my cargo back, and now Maersk has billed me R32 000 for the delayed return of their container because of the problems at the depot.”
He said when he took the matter up with Rapple, they said it had become very common for Sars to hold back cargo, with related D&D costs passed onto shippers.
Charges of this nature have become a focal point of Joe Biden’s Administration and investigations against D&D charges by the US Department of Justice and Federal Maritime Commission.
Recent pronouncements by Biden have underscored the notion that the liner trade is exploiting costs related to the delayed return of containers, resulting in massive profits and subsequent impacts shippers have to absorb.
