• Home
• News Article

Cargo agents cry foul over clearing charges

By REJIMON K MUSCAT: Clearing agents at the Sultan Qaboos Port want the authorities to regulate the operations of shipping companies, especially on issues ranging from what they say "unpredictable handling charges" to "cargo clearing delays".

As for the issue of handling charges, agents say they are facing regular complaints from their customers about shipping companies "charging erratic rates" for cargo movement. The agents are now urging the port authorities to intervene, and introduce a standard fee structure for shipping firms to follow for cargo clearing.

"Be it the container deposit amount or the fee to obtain a delivery order, the charges vary from company to company. Even though we produce receipts to prove the transactions, our customers complain because we charge them different rates all the time," a clearing agent told Times of Oman.

The agents complain that while some shipping companies charge only RO100 as refundable deposit amount per container, others demand as high as RO400 for the same job. They also have to go through the inconvenience of chasing their refunds all the way to the banks and that takes away a considerable amount of time.

Gradual increase
"We have to pay the deposit in cash and it is refunded as cheque. And to get back our money we have to approach the banks," a Muscat-based agent lamented.

They also claim that in the last five years, the delivery order fee has gradually increased from RO5 to RO30 without any prior notice.

"Different companies collect delivery order fees, ranging from RO10 to RO30. We don't know what the benchmark is," one agent said.

The agents are also complaining that weekends are also counted in the days allocated for them to clear the goods from the containers.

"Some shipping firms give us seven days and others 10 days, which, again, is a problem for us. If a container arrives on Wednesday then we only have seven days to clear. Shipping agents don't count the two weekend days and we are left with only five days to clear," an agent explained.

Agents pay stiff fines if they don't clear the goods in time, often because the weekend days get in the way. Times of Oman has learnt that the penalty charges also vary from company to company.

"We are compelled to pay whatever they ask for because we have already made a commitment to our customers," the agents pointed out.

The agents also claim that some of the shipping companies collect "seal charges", which they have no right to do, since this charge is paid by the exporting country, as governed by a global practice. The agents also claim that some of the globally practised trade methods are not being followed at the port.

"Globally, delivery orders are issued in advance. This helps make preparations to clear the goods as soon as they arrive at the port. Most of the goods are transshipped from Jebel Ali to the Sultanate. When a particular shipment is loaded from there, the local agent will get intimation from them.

Fleecing
"And on that basis these companies can issue delivery orders prior to the arrival of shipment at the port. In most of the cases we get the delivery order only after the arrival of the shipment. Even if we get it on the same day we can process the documents in time and can avoid paying any demurrages to these companies. But the shipping companies delay it to charge demurrages," an agent said.

The shipping companies reportedly tend to fleece the agents in charging for Less Container Load (LCL) shipments too.

"If a 40-foot container of LCL shipments arrives, we have to pay only RO50 to unload it. A 40' container can contain a minimum 60cbm of cargo and they charge us RO6 per cbm as LCL charges. That means in a 40-foot container these companies collect RO360.

"Through this they can make RO310.000 from one container on account of LCL charges. And if the cargo comes in a 20-foot container we need to pay RO70 only," the same agent said.

Meanwhile, when contacted by Times of Oman, a Sultan Qaboos Port official said the clearing agents would need to formally file their complaints to the Port Authority.

"Collectively, all the grievances the clearing agents have must be submitted in writing to us for us to consider.

"We are keen to establish a working solution for all for the benefit of the local market," an official from Sultan Qaboos Port said.

© Times of Oman 2011