Santa Marta tops BIMCO port performance report

The BIMCO Dry Bulk Terminals Vetting Report 2016 aims to drive the improvement of standards for ships at dry bulk terminals across the world and give port call guidance to shipowners.

Aron Sørensen, head of maritime technology and regulation at BIMCO, said: “The dry bulk vetting scheme makes it possible for companies to compare terminal performances by using actual experiences provided by the crew of the bulk carrier.”

The BIMCO dry bulk terminal data was collected in the period from 19 January 2015 to 1 December 2016 with 94 ships providing 443 reports from 231 different terminals around the world.

The 15 terminals with more than five ratings were ranked in order of their performance putting Santa Marta at the top of the table, with Bilbao in Spain and Port Alfred in Canada coming in second and third place.

Although the report is an interesting perspective from shipowners, BIMCO said that to date there is insufficient data to draw solid statistical conclusions and make substantiated statements on dry bulk terminals and their performance. Nor can it express anything definite with regards to trends and details.

The report does indicate a general high standard of dry bulk terminals though with a good or excellent overall performance especially with regards to performing loading and unloading and the quality of the terminals and equipment. Communication between ship and terminal, as well as the exchange of information, was also found to be satisfactory.

There were a few areas with room for improvement. BIMCO said that some terminals should improve the language skills of the terminal personnel communicating with the ship’s crew. Terminals should also consider the cost of services such as garbage removal and fresh water supplies as in several cases they were found to be excessive. The most severe observation in the survey was that some terminals did not provide Emergency Procedure Notices for ships berthed.

BIMCO is now calling for more shipowners to submit feedback in order to improve the service and form more robust analysis for next year’s report.

The report is free of charge and available for download from BIMCO