KUCHING: Local shippers have raised concerns on the congestion at the Senari Port Terminal leading to delays in containers being sent out to the respective importers.
Sarawak Shipping Association chairman David Chung noted that hauliers have to wait in a queue for long hours to pick up containers before transporting the goods to the importers.
“We understand that the recent Senari Terminal’s computer outage has slowed down the process.
“But we do hope that the authorities have a back-up plan or upgrade to a better system in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring,” he told New Sarawak Tribune when contacted today (April 17).
He said with tracking of containers done manually before it gets picked up by the hauliers at the terminal due to the computer outage, it has caused a delay in containers being picked up and transported to the importers here.
“Since the breakdown of the system, there have been incidents where hauliers have been waiting in line from early morning until evening and could not pick up a single container,” he said.
Chung added that the association’s members will be having their annual general meeting (AGM) next week.
“During the AGM, we will discuss and maybe write a letter to the relevant authorities including the port authority so that we can discuss the issues,” he said.
New Sarawak Tribune also found out that with the vessel turnaround time delayed, shipping companies had no choice but to impose a high KCS (Kuching Congestion Surcharge).
It is understood that the congestion surcharge rate imposed by shipping companies is at RM300 for a 20-foot container and RM600 for a 40-foot container.
The surcharge rate covers all shipments to and from the port for all domestic and international shipments.
On April 13, Kuching Port Authority (KPA) informed that a computer outage had happened on March 27 at its Senari Terminal.
Despite the setback, KPA on March 29 implemented alternative procedures to continue its delivery services, which combines manual procedures with online application and its back-up server in Pending Terminal.
KPA general manager Robert Lau said that the usual time for container delivery is about 45 minutes to one hour but there have been delays following the computer outage.
“The slowness is due to certain manual processes which will be improved and speeded up by online application,” Lau assured.
