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Typhoon blamed for Southampton delays
Page 8
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DELAYS HITTING operators at Southampton Container Terminal (SCT) are being blamed on a typhoon in Korea and an unprecedented volume of containers.
Drivers complain that the fasttrack VBS system, installed last year in an effort to ease congestion, has made hardly any difference to delays. One claims the quickest turn-around time is now two hoursif you're lucky.
"It's wasting a lot of my time,says Steve Kellow, who works for Hanbury Davies and uses SCT every day. "As soon as the Working Time Directive comes in I don't know how people are going to make any money. We can't even charge them demurrage.The shipping lines are burying their heads in the sand."
Another subcontractor says no-one is addressing the problem. He claims the terminal has the smaller hauliers over a barrel and he's avoiding SCT while the queues remain as they are. "Liverpool has a system that works: it's excellent,he reports. "So has Thames Port. But there has been no progress at Southampton.
The port's business development director. Derek Smith. refutes claims that the VBS system is failing operators. He says the 25% increase in business expected at this time of year has been dwarfed by a 40% surge and admits that the situation may continue indefinitely.
-All the men and machinery are there,he claims. "But Felixstowe lost a slug of business earlier this year and we have 50% of the Far East market."