Merchants and importers have moved the Makkah Governorate against Jeddah Islamic Seaport authorities, Customs and stevedoring companies over the delay in unloading ships. The merchants claimed that the port authorities deliberately impose fines on unopened containers, and that the company in charge of the containers intentionally delays their delivery to justify penalizing the merchants for demurrage. The complaint alleges that the stevedoring company in charge of the empty containers yard receives containers between 2 P.M. and 4 P.M., a procedure resulting in a backlog of containers. The merchants also hold the port authorities accountable for the lack of equipment needed for discharging consignments from vessels. This shortage of equipment has resulted in diversion of several vessels from Jeddah to neighboring seaports. The seaport authorities have not taken any measure even when they were requested to increase the number of berths in order to speed up the unloading operations, the complaint said. – Okaz __
