It is reported that, a major chunk of import containers that arrived just during the pre-cyclone period have not been retrieved for last-mile delivery.
The delays inevitably put cargo owners at considerable risk of additional charges of port ground rent. Then there is the carrier levy of demurrage/detention charges on containers that overstay the free time window for storage or return of equipment.
Some ad-hoc relief, by way of five days extra free time, was provided by the port authority in the immediate aftermath of Cyclone Biparjoy. “We are in talks with Mundra Port for extended free times,” said an official at the Association of Container Train Operators (ACTO), and cargo stakeholders are pressing for an expeditious gate-out of stranded boxes.
Sources said June imports were still languishing in the port, while containers that were stacked later had received clearance priority due to their ease of retrieval.
“The port is promising that all June containers will be cleared soon and is targeting to reach normal eight-to-10 days’ dwell in another week or so,” the private rail operators’ group added.
