More trouble looms at PoS port

TTHA secretary Curtis Seepersad told Newsday yesterday there is currently a significant backlog of containers on the port and its genesis is connected to a breakdown in the air-conditioning system at the Customs and Excise Division’s Nicholas Court headquarters last month, which caused a delay in the processing of documents vital for the clearing of cargoes from the port. When Newsday visited the port yesterday morning, there was a large number of containers on the port waiting to be cleared and only two trucks had left the CES.

Seepersad said the CES is currently struggling to clear the backlog and no one in authority is giving them any clear explanation about why there are delays in clearing cargo off the port and how the situation could be resolved. Against this background and financial losses being incurred by the hauliers, Seepersad said the hauliers have decided to cease their operations at the Port-of-Spain port until proper mechanisms are put in place to ensure the proper running of the CES.

He also said the hauliers want the Ministry of Finance and the Customs and Excise Division to state why they have not been paid for their services at the Port-of-Spain port since 1996.

Customs Clerks and Brokers Association of TT president Michael Andrews supported Seepersad’s assessment of the situation at the CES and placed the blame squarely in the lap of the Customs and Excise Division. Andrews claimed that customs clerks were waiting for inordinately long times for customs officers to examine their goods so they could be cleared from the port. However, Comptroller of Customs Leonard Wattie said he was unaware of problems at the CES.

Quesnel said local manufacturers are the "the ones who will get hurt first" by way of extra charges to be paid when imports are not cleared from the port on time or if exports "miss the boat." Describing the entire situation at the CES (including an apparent lack of coordination amongst the various agencies operating there) as unsatisfactory, Quesnel said this does not augur well for the start of the peak Christmas trading season when the volume of goods flowing through TT’s ports will be at their highest.The TTMA president added that all stakeholders involved in activities at the CES must work together to do their part to resolve the problems there.

Port Authority of TT (PATT) chairman Noel Garcia said while the CES is controlled by Customs and not directly by PATT, he will be acting as an intermediary to see how best the situation at the CES could be resolved for the benefit of all concerned. Seamen Waterfront Workers Trade Union president Michael Annisette (who is also chairman of the Port Maritime Services Ltd company which provides labour for the CES) criticised Customs for not putting proper mechanisms and systems to ensure the efficient running of the CES. He warned that the country’s competitiveness could be jeopardised if this is not done.