Shipping agents want port charges in dlrs deferred
View(s):Sri Lanka’s shipping industry has opposed the latest move by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) to impose dollar payments for port charges from June 1. As a result the authorities have been compelled to defer it by one month with the new date being July 1.
SLPA wants shipping lines to pay stevedoring and navigation charges which forms 85 per cent of all port charges in dollars, a move opposed by agents in Colombo. They note that with payments to principals stuck in Colombo due to the lack of dollars, the amount has now come down to US$70 million but this needs to be covered before asking for dollar payments.
Port charges have been a dollar tariff that had been then converted to rupees and payments made in rupees. However, due to the lack of the required foreign exchange in the country, the SLPA has now called on the shipping lines to make the payments in dollars.
SLPA Chairman Dr. Prashantha Jayamanne told the Business Times that they were only trying to formalise the processes by requesting payments to be carried out in dollars.
He noted that even today some are already paying in dollars and some are not and it is only very few that do not make the payment in dollars.
According to Dr. Jayamanne, payments made to the South Asia Gateway Terminal (SAGT) and the Colombo International Container Terminal (CICT) were all made in dollars.
While the SLPA has only deferred the payment by a month, the industry has called on Shipping Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to also intervene and try to defer this regulation by about three months, industry sources said.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that delays in other ports especially Chinese ports are leading to vessels bypassing Colombo. As a result some of the regional countries are also finding it difficult to send their exports via Colombo Port since most lines when they are delayed elsewhere tend to skip Colombo in a bid to keep up with the schedule.
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