Container logjam ends, UAE to clear cargo

Kochi: A container logjam, which resulted in hundreds of parcels from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) piling up at the Kochi port, has been resolved with the UAE agreeing to bear the charges for clearing the cargo.

At least 28 containers containing 10,000 parcels were piled up at Kochi since July 2002 as the port authorities and the Emirates Post argued over who was to pay the clearing charges. "The Emirates Post have agreed to pay the charges to the customs and port authorities," says Minister for Non-Resident Keralites Affairs M M Hassan.

"Once the containers are cleared from the port, the postal authorities have assured me that they will deliver the parcels at the earliest," adds Hassan. "The union communications ministry has been asked to ensure that no confusion will arise over the issue again."

The parcels have begun arriving after the Emirates Post launched a new scheme to enable expatriates in the UAE send parcels weighing up to 35 kilograms and containing medicines, clothes, food items and sports goods to their families in Chennai, Delhi, Kochi and Mumbai at special rates.

George Mathew, managing director of Ancheril Agencies, the shipping agent who had cleared 10 containers from April to June 2002, says he will clear the remaining containers once the money was received from the UAE. "For three months after the launch of the Emirates Post scheme in April 2002 there were no problems.

"We were paid the money by the postal authorities for 10 containers, and we cleared the consignments at the Cochin port. When we put up the bill for another 15 containers, the payment never came from the postal authorities and we were not able to clear the consignments. The postal authorities had subsequently told me that talks were under way with the UAE authorities to resolve the issue."