Easing congestion
Congestion was an issue at DP World's flagship terminal at Jebel Ali for part of last year, but the company says the problems were resolved by a series of initiatives - including expanding yard capacity, working with customers to manage berthing times, and increasing storage fees to "encourage" shippers to take their containers off the terminal.
Growth in volumes had put pressure on ports in the region, causing vessel delays which had a knock-on effect at Jebel Ali, said DP World. About 80% of vessels were arriving outside their berthing windows, and containers were stacking up and taking time to clear. On top of this, shippers were leaving containers at the terminal for longer, putting pressure on yard capacity.
"The decision to increase storage fees for containers left in the yard for more than the five-day free period has helped resolve the congestion problem," said Mohammed Al Muallem, managing director of DP World - UAE. "Since we introduced the new rates, we have seen a significant reduction in the time containers are being left in our yards, and this has also positively impacted our liner customers who no longer experience delays in berthing."DP held "intensive meetings" with shippers, shipping lines and the authorities to resolve the issues.
The second phase of Container Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali is due to come onstream in the first quarter 2009, bringing total capacity of Container Terminal 2 to more than 5m teu - and raising the overall capacity of Jebel Ali Port to between 14m and 15m teu.
