The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has clarified a news items published in 'Business Recorder' titled "NLC likely to install modern scanning system at all ports," in the issue of January 27(Thursday). The KPT in a press release has clarified that: "The contents are not based on facts. The fact is that the NLC initiated the purchase of scanners from China some two and a half year back without consultation with any port authority, terminal operator, port user, exporter, Chamber of Commerce or any other body, which would be affected in one way or the other by the installation of scanners.
All these stakeholders are now being asked to accept this as fait accompli. To start with, this is not the most organised way of working and creates problems, which affect trade and commerce - finally affecting the common man in the street. Apart from this there are innumerable other problems.
To highlight a few it is still not known as to what is the purpose of these scanners. Every facility added to the port is good, but it has to weigh against the cost it would levy on the trade. Security is every ones concern and the ports are not oblivious to it.
The Karachi Port and both its container terminals are ISPS Code compliant since July 2004. But implementation of ISPS Code does not envisage a scanner. The Container Security Initiative (CSI) by the US customs entails qualification by US government, which in turn requires a certain volume of container flow from the port directly to US ports, and Karachi Port does not fall in this category. The news item published gives a very broad-brush treatment to the issue and is devoid of professional details mentioned above.
As for using the scanners for customs, the benefit must flow to the exporters - meaning scanners must ensure non-intrusive customs clearance. The scheme does not envisage this even.
As for only a small percentage of containers being opened for customs as claimed in the news item, it may be clarified that even today only five percent of each index is opened, which would continue after the scanners. So in effect the trade is being asked to pay four dollars per TEU for no benefit to the exporters or importers or the ports.
As for security issues, the scanners are incapable of detecting any explosives whatsoever. Apart from this fixed cost, the scheme envisages multiple handling of containers, which would have to be brought for scanning from the yards and then taken back to the yards and stored separately. All this entails extra handling, extra space, and extra movement, and each one adds to handling cost. In a nutshell the scheme is all pain and no pleasure.
The news item also talks about 'excessive port handling charges' and Karachi Port being costly. This is based on scant and raw information. The Karachi Port does not charge any port handling charges. The only charge levied by Karachi Port is Rs 1,800 per TEU for wharfage, which caters for maintenance of berths, plinths, roads, electricity, water, cranes, sheds and offices and the entire staff.
The Karachi Port has the cheapest dry charges (wharfage, storage and cranage) in the entire region. To quote an example, the KPT cranes work at Rs 2,212 per shift (eight hours) whereas in Dubai it is Dirham 60 per hour (Rs 7,680 for eight hours). As for the scanners being 'state of the art' the lesser said the better."-PR