PORT operator, APM Terminals, on Friday urged consignees of containers sitting on the port for prolonged periods to clear their goods, warning that the unclaimed goods could be siezed and put up for sale by the Customs Department.

According to the operator, up until Friday, there were 263 unclaimed containers sitting on the port for between 30 to 400 days, taking up much-needed space as the facility prepares for the expected Christmas rush.

The port’s client services manager, Wilma Johnson, told the Observer that one client alone was responsible for 54 of the unclaimed containers.

“The containers can be taken by customs and the contents sold; however, we try to ensure that we exhaust all the avenues to contact the client before we go that route,” she told the Observer.

Johnson said the port has been working assiduously to alert the consignees to collect their goods even going as far to seek the assistance of organisations in getting their members and clients to come in.

“We have to call the respective consignees or send the list to the shipping agents requesting their assistance as well as to the Jamaica Manufacturers Association, the Chamber of Commerce, the Trailer Haulage Association and Custom Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association,” she said.

On Friday, the company began publishing an ‘Aged Cargo Advisory’ listing the consignee, the number of containers they have on the port and the length of time the goods have been sitting on the facility.

The list includes some well-known companies, ranging from auto to home furnishing to hardware merchants and manufacturing companies.

According to Johnson, they have been receiving varying reasons as to why the containers have not been collected.

“Some will tell you they didn’t remember they had the container there or they were not aware of it because the overseas suppliers sent the container without their knowledge,” she explained.

The problem of unclaimed cargo has been a recurring one at the port. In 2005, the port increased its fees by 50 per cent to decrease the abuse of the facility by local importers who failed to clear their goods even after being contacted.

On Friday, Johnson said she was not aware of any plans to increase the fees from $800 for a 20-foot container and $1,600 for a 40-foot container. Fees are charged after seven working days and containers are classified as aged after 30 days.