Authorities urged to address space issues at Port of Kingston

By Clinton McGregor    

 

Chief Executive Officer of the Seprod Group, Richard Pandohie, is urging the authorities to address the capacity problem at the Port of Kingston in order to ease the annual Christmas congestion.

 

Local importers, including manufacturers and distributors have been expressing frustration with the delay in clearing goods off the wharves in time for the Christmas rush.

 

There were reports last week that several ships were anchored in harbour waiting to offload, while others have bypassed Jamaica.

 

The Port Authority of Jamaica had reported that the current congestion at the port resulted from a drastic increase of cargo volumes as well as disruptions in mainliner service schedules.

 

In an interview with Radio Jamaica News, Mr. Pandohie, the head of one of the country's largest distribution and manufacturing companies, said the lack of space on the port is a major issue that must be solved.

 

"We need equipment investment in the yards. We need KFTL to, while their business is transshipment, to understand that, you know, a big part of the lifeblood of this economy relates to exports and the importation of goods and there has to be some priority there. I think the PAJ needs to have a dialogue with them to ensure that there's some priority there. I mean, this is huge. And of course, getting more vessels to call on our ports creates a more competitive environment and to get more capacity, which would be beneficial to all of us," he suggested. 

 

Mr. Pandohie added that the delay in clearing goods is increasing the costs to importers and distributors.

 

He argued that the supply chain challenges are as bad now as they were during the COVID-19 pandemic.