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- Feb 11, 2007
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13th November 2009
Importers: Low discharge capacity cause of delays
TPA: Importers have not submitted bills of lading
Dar es Salaam Port
Countrywide scarcity of petroleum products is looming as crude and edible oil tankers congest the Dar es Salaam Port, ‘The Guardian' can reveal.
Serious delays in discharging the imported cargo have caused fears of possible hiked fuel prices.
The Tanzania Oil Marketing Association says that it now takes between ten to 14 days of delivery for a single petroleum product loaded marine vessel to offload the cargo, sparking fears of serious shortage of fuel and subsequent hiked prices.
The Association's officials have registered complaints to the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, (TPSF) on the sluggish operations at Kurasini Oil jetty, alleging that the delays were partly due to limited work facilities such as the flow meters which were used to determine the quality and quantity of petroleum products received as well as for edible Oil.
The chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Easter Mkwizu, said the delays have not only caused inconvenience to oil dealers but also attracted high demurrage charges paid to TPA.
"Oil Marketing Association members have a genuine case when they complain about delays at the port. They are obliged to pay USD 10,000 per ship to the TPA everyday. After 14 days of waiting, importers have spent more than USD 3 million. The question is how would the extra costs be recovered if not from consumers?, Mkwizu asked, saying in the past it took three to seven days for ships to offload oil cargo at the port.
The Association has requested the government to intervene to help reduce the time spent waiting at the port, to avert a possible artificial fuel shortage.
The Association further underlined the need for installation of more flow meters for fuel products only and others for edible oil.
There were reports that there were 21 cargo ships currently waiting to offload at the port.
However Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) officials denied the reports.
The TPA Public Relations Manager Franklin Mziray said his office was aware of at least seven marine vessels waiting to offload the cargo, adding that TPA had received clearing documents for just one vessel. He said those on the waiting list had not submitted the documents leading to self-imposed delays.
According to the established regulations, said Mziray, each ship is required to submit its bill of lading documents before arrival at the port for processing, adding that in the present situation, the seven waiting vessels would remain unattended even if the port was free from any offloading vessel.
"Currently marine vessels christened Sumberin and Bembera are offloading the fuel at the port as other vessels wait for their turn to offload," Mziray explained.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
Dar es Salaam Port
Countrywide scarcity of petroleum products is looming as crude and edible oil tankers congest the Dar es Salaam Port, ‘The Guardian' can reveal.
Serious delays in discharging the imported cargo have caused fears of possible hiked fuel prices.
The Tanzania Oil Marketing Association says that it now takes between ten to 14 days of delivery for a single petroleum product loaded marine vessel to offload the cargo, sparking fears of serious shortage of fuel and subsequent hiked prices.
The Association's officials have registered complaints to the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, (TPSF) on the sluggish operations at Kurasini Oil jetty, alleging that the delays were partly due to limited work facilities such as the flow meters which were used to determine the quality and quantity of petroleum products received as well as for edible Oil.
The chairperson of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Easter Mkwizu, said the delays have not only caused inconvenience to oil dealers but also attracted high demurrage charges paid to TPA.
"Oil Marketing Association members have a genuine case when they complain about delays at the port. They are obliged to pay USD 10,000 per ship to the TPA everyday. After 14 days of waiting, importers have spent more than USD 3 million. The question is how would the extra costs be recovered if not from consumers?, Mkwizu asked, saying in the past it took three to seven days for ships to offload oil cargo at the port.
The Association has requested the government to intervene to help reduce the time spent waiting at the port, to avert a possible artificial fuel shortage.
The Association further underlined the need for installation of more flow meters for fuel products only and others for edible oil.
There were reports that there were 21 cargo ships currently waiting to offload at the port.
However Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) officials denied the reports.
The TPA Public Relations Manager Franklin Mziray said his office was aware of at least seven marine vessels waiting to offload the cargo, adding that TPA had received clearing documents for just one vessel. He said those on the waiting list had not submitted the documents leading to self-imposed delays.
According to the established regulations, said Mziray, each ship is required to submit its bill of lading documents before arrival at the port for processing, adding that in the present situation, the seven waiting vessels would remain unattended even if the port was free from any offloading vessel.
"Currently marine vessels christened Sumberin and Bembera are offloading the fuel at the port as other vessels wait for their turn to offload," Mziray explained.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
