Shipping industry sources allege that the charges collected by DP World for its various services offered by it at Vallarpadam ICTT (International Container Transshipment Terminal) may drive away trade from Kochi.
DP World, which operates the terminal, is said to be collecting Rs 500 per 20 ft container for the pre-shipment facility, against the earlier Rs 22 per container at the Ernakulam Wharf. With the commencement of the facility at ICTT Vallarpadam, operations at the Ernakulam Wharf were shut down.
The company is also said to be imposing a late arrival charge of Rs 2,500 per box. Likewise, the weight amendment charges at Rs 2,500 per box, status change charges (Rs 2,500 per box), charges to remove containers from the stack, etc lead to additional expenses to the trade.
Shipping companies complain that these charges raises the overall costs incurred by the Exim trade to and from the ICTT.
Apart from this, marine exporters have to bear additional charges of Rs 800 for any variations between the set temperature of the reefer container and the temperature observed at the time of plugging at the export container yard in the terminal.
Further, the decision of the Customs Department to move all import containers to private container freight stations (CFSs) for clearance has not found favour with shipping companies.
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