THE Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) has implemented measures to relieve congestion at the Port of Kingston following concerns expressed publicly by stakeholder groups in the port and shipping industry, particularly by the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA).

In a release shared with the Jamaica Observer, the PAJ said it took immediate steps to address the issues and the situation has improved significantly.

As a result of these actions, the PAJ claims the backlog has been reduced from six weeks to two weeks, and efforts are underway to further lessen this to one week in the immediate future and thereafter to eliminate the backlog as quickly as possible.

Some of the other actions taken by the PAJ include facilitating vessels with the largest amount of domestic cargo by giving them priority in the sequence in which the backlogged vessels are being processed.

Additionally, Kingston Freeport Terminal Ltd (KFTL) has requested that originating ports segregate cargo destined for the domestic market from trans-shipment cargo when stacking the vessels. This will enable flexibility to bring the vessels in to offload domestic cargo, even if the entire cargo load cannot be processed immediately due to inadequacy of storage space on the terminal.

The Port of Kingston also serves as a feeder port for smaller regional ports that have been unable to effectively manage the increased demand, which resulted in an insufficiency of feeder vessels. The slow pace of collection of cargo by feeder vessels from the Port of Kingston to be offloaded at regional ports to return for others contributes to congestion. Further, local importers have been very slow to collect containers from the port, which results in inadequate capacity. When containers are not collected on time, it reduces storage space at the port and inhibits the offloading of new containers from incoming ships, which also contributes to congestion.

The PAJ disclosed that the factors contributing to congestion at the Port of Kingston are multifaceted. As a key trans-shipment terminal in the international trade system, the Port of Kingston is adversely impacted by the supply chain management inefficiencies facing ports globally, in addition to other regional issues.

Large cargo ships are now arriving at the port entirely full. As a result of global congestion, their arrival in Kingston is not according to the regular schedules, due to delays at other ports. Often several of these ships arrive simultaneously or within days of each other.

The normal yard planning processes to manage the available storage space for cargo on the terminal are negatively impacted as a result. When these large ships are offloaded, the volumes are so excessive that they require all the available storage spaces at KFTL.

The PAJ, KFTL, the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) and the Port Management Security Ltd (PMSL) have collaborated to facilitate an expansion in opening hours at the terminal to facilitate the collection of domestic cargo. KFTL has extended the gate operating hours from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm, Mondays to Thursdays and to 4:00 pm on Fridays. Additional delivery slots have been included in the daily Port Community System (PCS) Truck Appointment System to facilitate the clearance of domestic cargo.

To maximise capacity, the PAJ is encouraging stakeholders to seize the opportunity to select their preferred time slots on the system, which presently indicates significant available time during non-peak collecting hours.

KFTL has ordered and begun to receive new additional equipment, including straddle carriers, to improve movement and delivery of containers at the port. This will enhance the efficiency with which the domestic and trans-shipment cargo is processed at the terminal. The company said the situation is being monitored daily and weekly to ensure that domestic distributors and manufactures receive the cargo required for the end-of-year peak demand by consumers.

Contextually, all ports globally are still grappling with the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, and congestion continues to be a major issue. As a result of COVID-19, new operational protocols such as temperature checks and sanitisation were introduced at ports, and coupled with a disruption in readily available labour, operational efficiency was adversely affected.

Consequently, the domino effect of reduced productivity and slower processing times at ports, worsened by an increase in the demand for goods, resulted in congestion at ports worldwide. This year, there is a noted global trend of ports presently experiencing the peak cargo volumes that are customary in the December holiday season, as presumably stakeholders are ordering earlier and in larger quantities to militate against an anticipated backlog in December.

The effect of this is a shift in the period for peak activity, and thus the customary adjustments to operations that would normally be introduced in December to alleviate congestion were not introduced immediately to effectively address the unexpected increase in cargo being received at ports at this time. Additionally, geopolitical factors such as the war in eastern Europe and the escalation of trade conflicts between the world’s largest economies have a negative impact on effective global supply chain management.