Surcharge call at 'bingo' port
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HAULIERS serving the port of Liverpool may impose a "surcharge" on goods taken to and From the docks because of delays to vehicles, labour shortages and difficulty in obtaining lorry bookings.
"I have urged the road haulers to stave off their threa-. :ened surcharge on the port, Dut they will hold off for one month only," said George kicock, chairman of the Merseyside Chamber of Commerce and Industry port users committee.
Port in chaos
Delays to lorries, both at container and general cargo berths had embittered road transport operators, and some firms were already charging higher rates for Liverpool dock work or levying demurrage, he said.
The port's lorry booking system is in chaos, he added.
"It's like playing a game of bingo. Hauliers are finding it very difficult or impossible to obtain a booking in the afternoon."
Dockers stopping work early in the afternoon were aggravating delays caused by dock labour shortages of up to 1,000 men on some days, he added.
A. V. Walker of .1. W. Walker and Sons (Liverpool) Ltd, Liverpool sub-area chairman of the Road Haulage Association, confirmed that many operators were thinking in terms of a surcharge.
"We don't want to be difficult, but if things don't improve we shall have to take some action to protect ourselves.
"I hope that the Dock Company can get their house in order in the next month.
"Our only interest is to see this port back on the map," he said.
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company has announced it is considering a number of measures to alleviate the congestion in the port. These include imposition of "extreme penalties" on cargoes left on the quays by consignees and importers, an emergency berth allocation scheme and tighter regulation of labour supply, said James Fitzpatrick, chief executive. Traffic in the port is running 25 per cent above shipowners' forecasts and this, together with a 'flu outbreak among dockers, has been a major cause of the congestion.