By Kebba AF Touray
According to the National Audit Office (NAO), containerized cargo owners are sometimes billed to pay congestion fees ranging from US$300 to US$400 per container, unleashing its effects on the prices of commodities.
This is between the range of D20,400.00 and D27,200.00 per container.
The NAO revealed this in its final report on the performance audit on cargo handling by the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) 2021.
The NAO on importers paying congestion fees and demurrages, said that berthing congestions comes at a cost to the importers or consignees.
It indicated: “As confirmed with the shipping lines, due to the amount of time the vessels have to spend at anchorage, containerized cargo owners are sometimes billed to pay congestion fees which range between 300 to 400 dollars per container.”
The audit added that the bulk cargo owners are required to pay demurrages after the designated agreed time elapses without discharging.
“These demurrage charges range between 5,000 to 15,000 dollars29 depending on the size of the vessel and agreement between the owners of the vessels and the charterer (importer) before departure,” NAO reported.
It averred that major importers like Jah Oil, George Banna, and others have highlighted that they were compelled to lose thousands of dollars on demurrage charges due to the berthing congestion and other inefficiencies at the port of Banjul.
This, NAO said, has contributed to skyrocketing prices in essential commodities in The Gambia as the cost of congestion fees and demurrages are added to the shipping cost of the businessmen who would also spread it and add it to the prices of commodities.
“Since more than half of The Gambian populace is categorized to be within the poor bracket, skyrocketing prices on essential commodities like food is a threat to the country’s food sufficiency as many may not be able to afford these essential commodities,” said NAO.
On shipping lines reducing their calls to the port of Banjul, it stated that discussions with major shipping lines such as the Maersk line and CMA operating at the port of Banjul have resorted to using larger shipping vessels operating in other neighboring ports as a way of reducing the number of calls they made to the port of Banjul.
This, as outlined by the audit is due to the long vessel turnaround time.
Similarly, the management of the MSC shipping line said that due to the long vessel turnaround at the port of Banjul, it has reduced the calling of the port of Banjul from 36 – 38 calls per year in 2017 to 11 – 13 calls in 2020.
“Bollore and OBL have also highlighted frustrations faced with their clients because of the turnaround time leading to the reduction in the number of consignments handled,” said NAO.
According to NAO, this has led to revenue loss both on the side of GPA and GRA as when the shipping line reduces calls, the revenue for ports goes down and similar faith applies to the customs revenue.
The NAO concluded that GPA has failed to achieve a short vessel turnaround time.
The NAO attributed this to the limited berth availability, which is unable to optimally handle vessel calls, lack of modern port equipment to fast-track vessel unloading and loading, inefficient stevedores, and congested terminal space.
The authority, as NAO stressed did not have the required capacity in terms of space, equipment, and dock labour workforce to handle the increasing traffic of the port of Banjul.
The vessel turnaround time of the port of Banjul, according to the audit, is far behind that of competing sister ports which have achieved a vessel turnaround time of 5 days and below.
“Long vessel turnaround time translates or is an indication of the port inefficiency,” said the audit office.
The NAO recommended that for the GPA to address the problem of long vessel turnaround time, the causes of the problems cannot be addressed in isolation rather a holistic approach needs to be employed.
The audit proffered that management should consider upgrading and increasing the capacity of the berths, to match the current demand of modern vessels and/or to respond to the prevailing circumstances of the ports.
This will help to support the economics of scale, increase revenue for the ports, increase port calls, and uphold the desired competitiveness of the port with sister ports.
Additionally, it said that the ports should consider acquiring and installing the relevant cranes at the quay or wharf to ensure timely unloading and discharge of cargoes from the quay to the terminals.
This, the NAO proposes, could ensure the decongestion from the quay and will contribute significantly to the short vessel turnaround time at the port.
It added “Furthermore, this will reinforce the vessel ted cranes and help to curb the downtime as a result of a breakdown in the vessel cranes which periodically occur”
While NAO said that it is vital to install these stationed cranes, hoppers, and suction, management should ensure that such equipment are installed alongside infrastructure development to support this advancement.
