Hutchison's Rotterdam CT denies hold up, says Hanjin boxes move out well
HUTCHISON's Europe Container Terminals (ECT) in Rotterdam, the main terminal for near-bankrupt Hanjin Shipping has denied claims that several thousand Hanjin containers are stuck awaiting release because of difficult release procedures and/or unreasonable fees.
"The reports are not right," a spokesman for ECT told Lloyd's Loading List. "Containers can be and are picked up in accordance with a mutually agreed procedure between ECT and organisations representing shippers and logistics service providers.
"Hanjin containers are collected continuously. The procedure works and we are in the middle of the process," he said.
Earlier, a Dutch court ruled in favour of shipper and freight forwarding associations against ECT, pronouncing fixed release fees of EUR€1,000 (US$1,123) to EUR€1,500 being applied by ECT on Hanjin Shipping containers held at the terminal as unlawful.
Shortly after the judgement, ECT and Dutch trade bodies EVO (shippers), Fenex (forwarding and logistics), TLN (transport and logistics) and Fenedex (exporters) "reached consensus on the release of Hanjin containers' with substantially lowered fees for the release of containers agreed for members of those associations.
ECT said the parties recognised that this was an "exceptional situation - a major shipping line encountering these kinds of problems" that had led to additional costs.
"The parties have agreed to a procedure in which all the stakeholders bear part of the extra burden," ECT said at the time. "This essentially ensures that the cargo flow will remain moving. A time-consuming and costly process has been avoided for those parties waiting for their cargo."
A major factor in the "'consensus" appears to be that ECT agreed to reduce fixed release fees on Hanjin Shipping containers, with the tariffs for collecting a container dropped to EUR€500 for a dry van container and EUR€600 for specials such as reefer and tank containers.
A security deposit is also required until the return of the stripped container of €EUR1,000 for a dry van container and €EUR5,000 for specials such as reefer and tank containers.
Said European Shippers Council (ESC) spokesman Raymond Mens: "It is true that we've had thousands of containers immobilised in Rotterdam. However, about two weeks ago, the Dutch Shippers Association and other business organisations reached an agreement with ECT."
HUTCHISON's Europe Container Terminals (ECT) in Rotterdam, the main terminal for near-bankrupt Hanjin Shipping has denied claims that several thousand Hanjin containers are stuck awaiting release because of difficult release procedures and/or unreasonable fees.
"The reports are not right," a spokesman for ECT told Lloyd's Loading List. "Containers can be and are picked up in accordance with a mutually agreed procedure between ECT and organisations representing shippers and logistics service providers.
"Hanjin containers are collected continuously. The procedure works and we are in the middle of the process," he said.
Earlier, a Dutch court ruled in favour of shipper and freight forwarding associations against ECT, pronouncing fixed release fees of EUR€1,000 (US$1,123) to EUR€1,500 being applied by ECT on Hanjin Shipping containers held at the terminal as unlawful.
Shortly after the judgement, ECT and Dutch trade bodies EVO (shippers), Fenex (forwarding and logistics), TLN (transport and logistics) and Fenedex (exporters) "reached consensus on the release of Hanjin containers' with substantially lowered fees for the release of containers agreed for members of those associations.
ECT said the parties recognised that this was an "exceptional situation - a major shipping line encountering these kinds of problems" that had led to additional costs.
"The parties have agreed to a procedure in which all the stakeholders bear part of the extra burden," ECT said at the time. "This essentially ensures that the cargo flow will remain moving. A time-consuming and costly process has been avoided for those parties waiting for their cargo."
A major factor in the "'consensus" appears to be that ECT agreed to reduce fixed release fees on Hanjin Shipping containers, with the tariffs for collecting a container dropped to EUR€500 for a dry van container and EUR€600 for specials such as reefer and tank containers.
A security deposit is also required until the return of the stripped container of €EUR1,000 for a dry van container and €EUR5,000 for specials such as reefer and tank containers.
Said European Shippers Council (ESC) spokesman Raymond Mens: "It is true that we've had thousands of containers immobilised in Rotterdam. However, about two weeks ago, the Dutch Shippers Association and other business organisations reached an agreement with ECT."