February 2006 Issue

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• In this issue
• Container Tariffs 2006/2007 - SAPO
• Container Cleaning Fee - Forwarder takes a stand
  on lines
• Car manufacturers to focus on exports
• Perishable facility closes
• Plans for big investment in Maputo cooling
  facilities
• High profile convictions prevent overloading
• Walvis Bay Port is Growing
• Matadi Port Terminal Congestion
• KENYA - SGS South Africa (PTY) Ltd, January 200
• Second hand vehicle market changes on the way
• Stowaways what the law says
• Lessons from the Ark
• The growth in the South African container trade
  over the past decade has surpassed the
  international growth rates and placed extreme
  pressure on South African Port Operations
  Container Terminal capacity. The South African
  Port Operations remains committed to meet this
  growth challenge by providing capacity ahead of
  demand. This is substantiated by the significant
  container capacity investment program presently
  in progress. The prominent features of this
  program are the on-going investment in gantry
  cranes and straddle carriers at Durban, Port
  Elizabeth and Cape Town Container Terminals, the
  commissioning of the Pier 1 Container Terminal in
  Durban and the development of the Ngqura
  Container Terminal. SAPO has recently signed a
  contract for the supply of 14 super post Panamax
  cranes for Pier 1, Durban Container Terminal and
  Cape Town Container Terminal. South African Port
  Operations is committed to providing a
  differentiated service offering to its container
  customers. However, SAPO also needs to ensure
  that the current container market remains
  accessible to all its users. With regard to 01
  April 2006 the base tariff will increase by4.8.
  During the past 2 years the South African
  Container Advisory Board and associated Container
  Liner Operator Forum structures have developed
  and introduced key performance indicators and
  behavioral compliance criteria with the view to
  ensuring optimal container supply chain
  performance in South Africa.

• Acting on legal advice, a major forwarder is
  refusing from January 1 to pay the container
  cleaning fee - which most shipping lines and
  NVOCCs impose regardless of whether a container
  is clean or not.And, in a letter to seven major
  shipping lines and ships agents, it has also
  retained its right to take legal action to get
  release of the cargo if the line/agent refuses to
  let cargo through unless the fee is paid.
• Narrowing the trade gap between exports and
  imports of vehicles and components is the
  priority for South African motor manufacturers,
  according to the 2005 annual report of the
  National Association of Automobile Manufacturers
  of South Africa (Naamsa).Total imports for the
  auto industry totalled R58-billion in 2004, and
  exports R39.2-billion, leaving a deficit of
  R18.8-billion.
• Fresh Produce Terminals, South Africas largest
  portside handler of cooling facilities for fresh
  export produce, has captured the total Cape Town
  business of specialised reefer operators
  NYKLauritzenCool and Seatrade from rival Southern
  African Fruit Terminals.SAFT effectively closed
  down its Cape Town and Durban terminal operations
  in the Mother City and Durban last month but
  still maintains a number of other cooling
  operations.
• Fresh Produce Terminals plans to inject more than
  R100 million into new and upgraded cooling
  facilities at Maputo within the next two years.
• The introduction of a weighbridge at Groblers
  Bridge Border Post has dramatically reduced
  overloading on the alternative route to the north
  that avoids transit through Zimbabwe.Director of
  Cargo Services, Ian Cooper, said that the gross
  overloading which had been experienced on the
  route and led to a number of high profile
  convictions immediately after the weighbridge was
  introduced was definitely a thing of the past.
• Further extensions to the port of Walvis Bay
  container terminal and the provision of a new EDI
  system are priorities in Namports plans for
  2006, The container terminal was recently
  upgraded from 368 to 778 ground slots. This
  increased the handling capacity to more than
  8-million tonnes of bulk, containerised, frozen
  and dry cargo and about 250 000 TEUs annually.
  Now an additional 100 ground slots are to be
  opened up, says Mouton.
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• Matadi Port Congestion
• The Ewata Lines have reviewed the current
  congestion problems which basically consist of
• A Port congestion situation whereby there are
  simply not sufficient berths available, because
  of refurbishment works. This is resulting in
  vessels having to wait several days before being
  able to berth. A Terminal congestion situation
  whereby operations take much longer than
  considered normal due to congestion of the
  terminal, lack of equipment, lack of space, etc.
  They are confronted with two different problems
  and decided to implement two different
  surcharges.
• Matadi Port Congestion Surcharge
  US60 /teu
• Matadi Terminal Congestion Surcharge
  US330 /teu
• In view of the fact that the Congo River
  presently has 26 feet draft the Congo River
  Surcharge was cancelled on 14 December 2005.
• Pre-shipment inspection for Kenya imports ended
  on 30th June 2005, subsequently the Kenya Bureau
  of Standards introduced another programme known
  as PvoC (Pre-shipment Verification Of
  Conformity), which commenced on 29th September
  2005.This programme is
  
  
  based on the Conformity Assessment Rule
  adoption, by the Kenyan authorities, of the WTO
  Agreement, Article 5.  This article specifically
  relates to the regulation of products being
  imported into the country.Exporters are to
  ensure that their products or goods meet the
  regulations and quality requirements of Kenya
  before shipment. Depending upon the product, this
  may require testing or the production by the
  exporter/manufacturer of the products
  certification to a relevant standard.
• At the expense of Durban, Musina could become a
  major hub for the sale of second hand motor
  vehicles imported into South Africas
  neighbouring countries from Japan and
  Singapore.Anticipation of this is already
  driving the creation of more warehousing space in
  the town.This is the view of Gary Mitchell,
  director of Musina-based Mitchell Export
  International, which has a 12 year history of
  exporting new and used motor vehicles to
  Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.

• The recent drowning in Durban harbour of two
  stowaways who were tossed overboard the African
  Kalahari by members of the crew who are now
  facing charges of murder and attempted murder has
  again raised the complicated question of what the
  law both international and national says on
  the issue of stowaways. A look at the
  International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
  Guidelines on the allocation of responsibilities
  to seek the successful resolution of stowaway
  cases , provides some interesting facts.The
  resolution of stowaway cases is difficult, said
  the IMO guidelines, because of different
  national legislation in each of the potentially
  several countries involved - the country of
  embarkation, the country of disembarkation, the
  flag state of the vessel, the country apparently
  claimed or actual nationality/citizenship of the
  stowaway, and the countries of transit during
  repatriation.
• Dont listen to critics, just get on with the job
  that needs to be done,
• Plan ahead, it wasnt raining when the Ark was
  built. And If things get really deep, dont just
  sit there and complain, shovel.
• Should you have any enquiries please contact
  Jenny Iyer
• jenny_at_laserint.co.za tel.(27) [phone].
• The views and opinions expressed in these
  articles are those of the
• Authors and not necessarily those of Laser
  Logistics (Pty) Ltd or the