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Agents and ship owners blamed for rise in freight costs
A cargo ship waits to off load cargo at Mombasa port. It is difficult to determine who between ship agents and owners should be held liable for over 20 unnecessary fees levied on importers using the port. Photo/FILE
Posted Wednesday, October 14 2009 at 00:00
This charge is unique to Mombasa, Tanzania scrapped it.
Ironically, the THC levied by the liners is the same as the stevedoring levy charged by KPA.
The two terminologies mean off loading cargo or loading it on a vessel
Disputed charge
“This charge is levied to recover stevedoring and wharf costs. It is applied in many ports in the world. It came about with the advent of the containerisation of cargo in the mid-70s,” Mr Wahutu said.
Another disputed charge is at the container deposit.
Agents charge $500 and $1,000 for 20 foot and 40 foot containers respectively for those destined to Kenya, while those on transit are charged $1,000 up to $5,000 for 20 foot and 40 foot containers respectively.
“Although this is part of a carrier attempt to ensure the return of containers, it has been used to provide shipping lines with a route for proliferation of charges whose reimbursement takes an inordinately long time,” the KMA report said.
Mr Wahutu gave a conservative estimate of lost or stolen containers in the region at about 500 units per year, which would amount to about $1,750,000.
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