Colombo Port limping back to normalcy
View(s):Exporters and the shipping industry this week stated that the congestion at the Colombo Port continued and vessels were re-routing to other regional ports as authorities fought hard to bring operations back to normal.
Though labour turnout has improved, operations at the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) are still with about 15 of the 20 cranes; Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) operations that was last week with six cranes has increased to 12 out of the total 14 cranes available; and South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) is currently operating nine of the 12 cranes, Ceylon Association of Shipping Agents (CASA) Chairman Iqram Cuttilan told the Business Times.
The backlog still continues and there continues to be berthing delays of about two to three days with expectations that it could take about another week to clear the backlog.
Moreover the transfer of containers between terminals from the main vessels to other feeder vessels is taking about 3-4 weeks’ to clear the backlog and this congestion is still present, he noted.
Ships have in advance decided not to call Colombo Port and certain lines are still not accepting imports on certain vessels, Mr. Cuttilan noted.
He explained that this is due to the fact that space into Colombo has become tighter as rates go up and lines have under the current circumstances become “selective.”
In effect “those willing to pay higher rates get the space” which results in a week to two weeks’ delay for vessels to send the containers routed to another port, he said.
Another concern is that Sri Lanka continues to lose its opportunity to engage Sri Lankan crew from going onboard vessels as crew changes have been stopped permanently since the second COVID wave started.
“Crews are not allowed to disembark and get onboard the vessels,” Mr. Cuttilan explained adding that instead these crew changes now happen only at other ports.
CICT General Manager Catriona Jayasundera told the Business Times on Thursday that they were back to full operation as planned this week and that they were working together with the entire port.
SAGT CEO Romesh David noted that they had an increase in the number of COVID cases that had gone up to 14 out of the 1400 workers they have at the terminal.
He noted that congestion still lies in the inter-terminal transmission of containers and berthing delays are still present.
Within the next 10-14 days they expect to address a bulk of the problem, Mr. David said.
Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) Chairman Jayantha Karunaratne told the Business Times on Friday that even this week they experienced difficulties at the port as they cannot send their stocks on containers on time as only a few vessels are available.
Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Ports Authority has issued a joint statement together with the SAGT and CICT terminals stating that they were “confident that we can return to normalcy and continue to extend the high level of service and efficiency our customers have become accustomed to.”
(SD)