Bunker suppliers to the national and international vessels have expressed strong reservations as the port operators have increased berth charges 'exorbitantly'. According to sources, Karachi Port Trust recently increased berth charges for bunker suppliers at Karachi Port from 0.5 cents to $5 per barge.
The move, however, fell heavily on the bunker suppliers who believe that the 'unfair and unwarranted move' would adversely impact the cost of doing business at the port. "It is not fair; they made the exorbitant raise without any prior notice," Chairman of Pakistan Bunker Association (PBA), Arif Zaman, complained while talking to Business Recorder.
He said that the port operator had increased the berth charges without providing the ship fuel suppliers with basic facilities, like a dedicated berth. He claimed that ports the world over have dedicated bunkering facilities, but these are lacking at ports here.
According to PBA chief, the bunker companies, which were charging 'very nominal' rent from their clients, would find it hard to run their offices after having their profit margin decreased phenomenally. "We have prepared a letter, to be sent to the chairperson of KPT shortly," Zaman said, adding that "our bills have more than doubled after the raise."
The bunker supplier was also critical of the level of increase in berth charges, saying that nowhere in the world such an astronomical boost had been made in port charges. "The world over, the increases range from 5 percent to 10 percent at the most, but this one is huge." A KPT spokesman rejected PBA claims, saying that the port operator had long been charging 'very nominal' berth charges, contrary to international market.
But now, the spokesman said, KPT had decided to rationalise these charges to bring them at par with international and regional ports. "Even now, our rates are lower than what are prevalent at international and regional ports," he added.
The spokesman said that the port operator was using the collected revenue on safety of port users, including bunker suppliers. The same revenue was also being used for anti-marine pollution measures at the port, he added. About provision of a dedicated berth, the spokesman said that the demand was logically impracticable. He contended that it was not possible even for the fuel suppliers to bring every ship to the proposed dedicated facility. "Bunkering is carried out abreast the ships, depending largely on location of a vessel... and certainly you have to move the barge, and not the ship, for fuelling," he argued.
Always complaining of lacking the government's due attention, the bunker industry claims to be one of the country's largest in terms of foreign exchange generation. Some 15 member companies of the fast-expanding PBA are supplying at least 25,000 to 30,000 tons of bunker monthly to foreign ships calling at the ports here.
During 2008-09 the industry's supplies, including furnace oil verities like IFO 180, IFO 380, marine gas oil and marine diesel, stood at over 0.18 million tons valuing around $900 million. The bunker suppliers also demand of the government to give their barges the status of 'floating petrol pumps'.