IN A bid to ease the current container clog at the island's terminals due to the impending Christmas season, the Port Authority has extended its normal working hours as well as expressed the willingness to open on Sundays.
"Effective immediately, the Port Authority has extended the opening hours of its south and north terminals to facilitate speedier clearance of containers during the period leading up to Christmas," said Noel Hylton, president of the Port Authority, as he addressed a recent board meeting of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) at their head offices on Duke Street, Kingston.
Mr. Hylton outlined that the Port Authority have increased the hours of delivery from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., which will obtain from Monday through to Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays. "We are also prepared to open on Sundays, although I understand it is difficult for the truckers to haul containers from the port on Sundays because business places are not opened... but we are still prepared to do so," said Mr. Hylton.
CONTRIBUTING FACTOR
The Port Authority executive believes that it will take six to eight weeks to appease the congestion at the terminals. A major contributing factor to the clogging, said Hylton was the "increase in the number of
containers coming into the Port of Kingston following the on-slaught of Hurricane Ivan.
He highlighted that the customary 19,000 TEUs (20ft Equivalent Units) per day has been increased by 6,000 TEUs. "Kingston is a transhipment hub, with 90 per cent of cargo going through the terminal destined for other countries. Since July we have seen an increase in the movement of cargo... and that continued because Hurricane Ivan prevented some of the ports in the region from taking cargo," Mr. Hylton explained.
Mr. Hylton added that if the operations managers at both the Kingston Wharves Limited or the APM Terminals Limited is given prior notice "we would put cargo at a position in the domestic delivery area where it can be picked up easily from the south and north gates."
