OPERATIONS at the country’s leading international port are back to normal after technical glitches last Wednesday threw a monkey wrench on carriers’ operations.
In a statement, International Container Terminal Services, Inc (ICTSI) — operator of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) — said the problems were caused by “self-inflicted” factors (specifically rising port volumes) and external issues (the unusually long weekend with August 30, a Monday, declared a holiday).
Last Wednesday vessel operators, truckers and other stakeholders suffered from delays due to what a source described as “a problem with the port’s terminal management system”.
For a certain period, incoming and outgoing vessels could not be accommodated as scheduled. Some ships which also had scheduled calls at the adjacent South Harbor, chose to dock there first while waiting for the problem to clear.
Trucking operators had no choice but to wait for hours before they could do their business at the port, leading to massive traffic jams in and around the pier.
“There were also some road closures and rerouting (not our doing), and heavy rains which added to the traffic,” ICTSI said in a statement, adding that the intermittent system glitch further led to the uncharacteristic traffic.
“The situation right now has greatly improved,” the company added.
ICTSI is investing $61.4 million for the construction of another berth to address the increase in cargo passing through its gates.
The berth can service post-Panamax vessels of up to 85,000 deadweight tons.
