Shippers slam lines’ ‘unfair’ delay charges

Forwarding agents end up out of pocket ALAN PEAT THERE ARE loud complaints emanating from freight forwarders and shippers who are being slapped with a delay charge at the Maydon Wharf breakbulk quay in Durban – even when having delivered cargoes on the nominated date, and not being the cause of the delay. And, critics told FTW, this charge would be levied on the cargo owner – or via the respective forwarding agents’ accounts where they are intermediaries in the cargo movement – even if the delay fault lay with the port authorities or the shipping line/ships' agents. This issue was first brought to our attention by a disgruntled forwarding agent who was invoiced by the port for delay charges on a client’s cargo – a large sum of money, said the forwarder, From page 1 and levied despite the consignment being delivered on the nominated date, and at the correct location. His problem was compounded when the client – quite understandably – refused to reimburse the agent for a delay charge which had been incurred through no fault of the cargo owner. A messy legal action between agent and client has been the unfortunate result. Another agent who was caught in this delay trap admitted that the level of charges imposed so far had been “only a few thousand rand”. Nonetheless, the same principle applies, he added. “Where the port or the shipping line is responsible for the delay, they should accept liability and absorb the cost. “But you’ve got three free days when you deliver the cargo – and, even if the port is short of equipment or labourers, or the ship is late in berthing, if you exceed this free period you will get charged.” A third agent was equally distraught. “Over the years I’ve lost a lot of money because of this unfair delay charge,” he told FTW. “And we currently have a massive debit to our account in a case where the ship was late.” They agree on one matter – the port tends to be co-operative, but the shipping lines/agents are often sticky about accepting liability. “It happens with a lot of lines,” said one of the agents, “but while some will co-operate, others just plain ignore us.” A case of big business muscle in the lines wielding their power against the smaller businesses in the forwarding industry is the picture that all our commentators painted. The SA Shippers’ Council (SASC), meantime, is against this delay charge “on principle”, said executive director Nolene Lossau. If a container is delivered on the appropriate stacking date, forwarders/cargo owners are not levied with a charge if there is a delay. So why should this apply to breakbulk cargo at Maydon Wharf? “It’s just not fair,” she said, “when the shipper/agent goes with the loading notice and nominated date agreed between the lines and the port authorities that they should still be charged even where they bear no liability for the delay.”