Apparel manufacturers demand waiver on container detention charge
Importers such as apparel-makers have needed a complete waiver on the detention fees levied by the delivery lines for positioning containers beyond the leisure time because of the coronavirus-induced shutdown.
Detention charges are the funds that merchants purchase the utilization of container within the terminal beyond the free of charge period and the charge that merchants purchase the utilization of container outside of the terminal or perhaps depot beyond the free of charge period.
Although the director general of the Department of Shipping on April 29 issued a find advising shipping lines never to impose any container detention charge on import and export shipments for the time from March 26 to May 5, global shipping lines and their local agents have refused to comply, expressing the sector is bleeding as a result of the pandemic.
The Bangladesh Shipping Brokers Association (BSAA) and the Bangladesh Container Delivery Association requested the DG Shipping and delivery in separate letters on April 30 to withdraw the notice and invite their member companies to manage in this hard time.
On May 5, the World Shipping Council dispatched a letter to the main secretary of the prime minister and the executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Production Authority calling for a withdrawal of the advisory.
The Bangladesh Garments Suppliers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has requested the Chattogram Slot Authority to teach shipping lines never to impose the charges and refund the money that has already been realised.
Usually, containers may stay from five to 21 days without incurring any expenses depending on the contracts with shipping companies. After that, $5 to $120 happen to be billed for a container each day in detention charges.
Hasan Abdullah, chairman of the slot and delivery committee of the BGMEA, called the DG Shipping's notice a pragmatic step.
Consignees just like the BGMEA users have been hit hard and subsequently strapped of income, so they'll not have the ability to pay large sums of detention fees.
A major portion of the import consignments, which are mainly recycleables for garment factories, are customs-bonded goods and have to be stored in bonded warehouses, that have been already running at whole capacity.
But the delivery lines in gross disregard to the find have continued to accumulate the fee, Abdullah said.
Apparel makers are having to pay out Tk 1.5 lakh to at least one 1.75 lakh per container in charges. In any other case, the shipping agents aren't issuing the delivery orders, he said.
The offices of DG Transport in India and New Zealand also issued very similar orders and the shipping lines that also operate in Bangladesh contain implemented the directives in the countries.
Transportation shortage, closure of all factories due to the lockdown and limited working hours at customs, banks and different office buildings caused the detention of containers, said BGMEA Director Anjan Shekhar Das.
Foreign mainline operators, the carriers of the containers, are the sole authority to impose or waive the charges, reported BSAA Chairman Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury.
"Shipping business possesses been the worst affected sector due to the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic," he explained.
As a result of port congestion previous month, feeder vessels had to wait 16 to 18 times at the external anchorage and berth stay time rose by another 6 to seven days, leading to overall 25 to 26 days of turnaround period.
This has inflicted plenty of losses on shipping lines as they need to pay the charter fare for each and every day, he said.
"Last month, we directed a letter to the delivery ministry calling for a review of several port fees and tariffs to safeguard the shipping corporations from the losses. But we received no response."
If the charges aren't reviewed or waived, it will not be easy for the mainline operators to consider waiving the detention charges, Chowdhury said.
