MANILA International Container Terminal (MICT) is now refusing to receive empty containers of international carriers to drastically reduce congestion at the port.
Since Friday, sources said it has rejected empty containers of Evergreen, Cosco, Hanjin and Maersk Line.
The policy — which will stay in place until congestion at the port becomes more manageable — allows the operator to allocate more space for laden boxes while looking for ways to hasten withdrawal of overstaying cargoes.
MICT will, however, allow truckers to deposit empties as long as sweepers sent by carriers to carry containers are already docked at the port.
MICT operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc is meantime negotiating lease of a three-hectare properly south of Manila owned by retired general Edgardo Aglipay, who is also a trucker, to serve as empty container depot.
South Harbor operator Asian Terminals, Inc — which already has an existing container depot in Laguna — is also looking to lease a two-hectare property in Sta. Mesa, Manila as an additional depot.
At the moment, empty containers occupy up to 30% and overstaying laden containers 25% of the MICT and South Harbor container yards, according to PortCalls sources. This leaves only about half of the yard area for incoming containers.
Last week, both the South Harbor and MICT operators proposed the doubling of the container storage fee beyond the allowable paid limit to discourage cargo owners from using the ports as virtual warehouses.
The port congestion problem is now the subject of most industry gatherings.
At a recent event, there was much talk over a shipping line charging its consignee more than P1 million for the delivery of 60 twenty-footers from China. The fee consisted of container deposit, destination terminal handling, equipment cleaning, equipment imbalance, import documentation fee, and port congestion surcharge.
