Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

"We are happy with change," is what Dr. Leahcim Semaj (left), Wilma Johnson, client services manager of APM Terminals (Jamaica) Limited, and Michael Bernard, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), seem to be saying at the SAJ's most recent Lunch and Learn seminar on 'Change Management and Globalisation - Jamaica's Shipping Industry and the Imperative for Change'. The seminar was conducted by Dr. Semaj last week at the SAJ's office in Newport West and was sponsored by APM Terminals (Jamaica) Limited. - FILE

Port manager APM Terminals Jamaica Limited says four of every 10 clients with appointments fail to meet their scheduled pick up times for cargo, causing disruptions in port logistics at the busy Kingston wharves.

The port manager says it gets requests to lift about 540 containers per day to designated collection points at a cost of about $1 million per day, but only 60 per cent or approximately 320 units are cleared at the times arranged.

Last week, APM issued a notice warning it would impose a US$100 ($6,600) penalty on tardy clients for missing their appointments, but only if they fail to make a new request within 72 hours.

The charge became effective November 13.

Interchange area

On the client's request, APM shifts containers into what is called the interchange area for pick up, only to have the cargo sit there for days 40 per cent of the time before clearance, because these requests were made ahead of obtaining the proper documentation, the port manager said.

APM introduced the appoint-ment system five months ago, promising it would be able to move 250 containers off the port under the streamlined operation.

Client services manager Wilma Johnson said the daily demand soon grew to 540 container movement requests, not all of which were picked up at the designated times.

"In the shipping industry, timing is important," said Johnson. "We position the containers in the interchange area on request but what this is doing is limiting our resources because we could be using our equipment to transport other containers," she told Wednesday Business.

According to the client services manager, the penalty to be applied by APM simply covers the cost of moving the container.

"The US$100 is the cost to the company for positioning the container for the client," she said.

Additionally, Johnson said, the client who makes a request then fails to keep the appointment, is robbing another of the opportunity to complete their transaction with the port.

"We ask clients to make application for their containers, but one client is making up to 40 odd applications for one container and 20 odd for five containers based on when they estimate their documents will be cleared," said the APM representative.

Appointment system

The appointment system was implemented July 10 to reduce the turn around time for the truckers to clear containers and save customers the hassle of turning up at the port to clear containers which could not be found.

Under the new system, which allows communication by email, customers are notified ahead of their appointment if their containers cannot be located.

"The penalty is saying that we are allowing two consecutive appointments for a container. The client has 72 hours after missing his or her first appointment to make a second appointment," said Ms. Johnson.

If the second appointment is made after 72 hours, the fee will be applied.

susan.smith@gleanerjm.com