Jakarta – Issues surrounding Tanjung Priok Port's dwelling time are heating up, with logistics and forwarding firms accusing state-owned port operator Pelindo II of taking benefits from the port's inefficiencies.
On the other hand, the port operator is blaming the Customs and Excise Office for the "lengthy" dwelling time.
The Indonesian Logistics and Forwarder Association (ILFA) says Pelindo II, which operates the country's main port, gains more revenues if containers stay longer there.
"A higher dwelling time will automatically benefit Pelindo II because it applies progressive tariffs to overstaying containers. It will contribute to the operator's net profit, without any investment needed," ILFA president Iskandar Zulkarnaen said in a press conference on Monday.
According to Pelindo II corporate secretary Yan Budi Santoso, the operator applies a progressive tax of up to 500 percent of normal storage fees to overstayed containers.
According to Iskandar, there were at least 3,864 containers overstaying at the port as of Monday, causing his members to suffer losses of 400 percent of their potential income.
Dwelling time begins from the time a carrier moors at a port to the time its cargo is unloaded and the cargo leaves the port, or vice versa.
The dwelling time at the port in North Jakarta, which handles around 70 percent of all goods entering the country, now spans, for example, six-and-a-half days last year to eight days this year, in line with Indonesia's economy that has annually expanded to more than 6 percent since 2010. "In practice, it is nine days, or even a dozen sometimes," Iskandar said.
According to the association's data, Indonesia ranked bottom for longest dwelling time with an average of 8.7 days, compared to Thailand with 5 days and Singapore with 1.2 days.
Iskandar also blamed Pelindo II for its mismanagement during pre- and post-clearance, which were under the operator's auspices.
Pelindo II corporate secretary Yan Budi Santoso said inefficiency at the port had taken its toll on everybody.
"It's not a policy that we want to do as it will incur losses on all of us," he said. "I don't want to blame long dwelling times on any particular party, but the reality is that it takes time to handle customs documents."
Finance Minister Chatib Basri earlier instructed his deputy Mahendra Siregar to set up an office at the port in an attempt to streamline bureaucracy there just days before the start of the fasting month of Ramadhan.
To reduce dwelling time, the customs office will open until 11:00 p.m. (asw)