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THREAT DELAY
Page 43
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ROAD haulage chiefs are to delay their threat of imposing demurrage charges at Liverpool's Seaforth Docks to allow time for talks with shipping lines.
"We are anxious not to make the port too expensive," said a spokesman for the Road Haulage Association after a meeting of hauliers who serve the Seaforth Terminal.
The meeting agreed to seek talks with ship-owners using the dock to see if the two groups could reduce the delays to vehicles taking containers in and out of the dock.
The RI-IA spokesman said there had been an improvement in lorry turnround times at Seaforth over the past few days although drivers were still experiencing delays and hauliers were still losing money.
The meeting agreed an hourly demurrage charge which would be introduced if delays continued, but the spokesman declined to say what the cost to shippers would be. There have been suggestions that the demurrage charge could be £5 an hour..
A spokesman for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board said that Seaforth was operating more smoothly because maintenance engineers had caught up with repairs to the straddle carrier fleet.
• There had been occasions during the last few days when men and equipment had been standing by waiting to handle lorries, the spokesman said.
Dock company officials have telephoned hauliers suggesting they take advantage of slack periods, but hauliers have said that they have no lorries available.