DUBAI: Major container port supply chain operator DP World has apologised to road port carriers for giving them just days to consider new access agreements. In a statement released to carriers Monday July 3rd, DP World Australia’s Chief Operating Officer Max Krause also extended the deadline given to operators. “We’re extending the deadline for returning Carrier Access Agreements (CAA) to Friday, 14 July,” Mr Krause said in the statement. “Many thanks to the more than 60 percent of carriers who have returned their paperwork,” he said. The statement also addressed recent requests to extend credit terms. “We will be retaining our 14-day payment terms with invoices issued weekly,” he said. In a response to Big Rigs DP World also confirmed that carriers who have yet to return their paperwork will continue to have access to the terminals until 14 July.
DP World Australia confirmed the short timeline was no normal practice for DP World Australia when supplying operators with new and amended agreements. “We apologise for the short lead time in issuing the CAA last week,” the spokesperson said. This response however is of little comfort to some carriers who had already signed the agreement for fear of losing access to the ports. “We received an email last Wednesday at around 1pm saying basically we may not be allowed to access the ports if we didn’t sign the agreement by July 1,” said a medium sized port carrier, responsible for over 50 staff including drivers.
The carrier who did not want to be named for fear impacting business said he like the other carriers he spoke to felt they had little choice. “We only had a couple of days to look through it, we haven’t had time to get a lawyer to look it over this isn’t a fight you can have individually,” the carrier said. “What ever they offer us we need to sign, we sign it right away even if it is an onerous contract with changes because what else can you do? You sign or you can’t get to the ports, we have to keep on moving with business.”
The carrier said many still haven’t had the opportunity to come to terms with all of the changes they had agreed to. “Individually we have no power to fight anything even if we disagreed, no one has the time or money to go through it highlighting the changes and pay for a lawyer, what would be the point of it,” he said. “There are changes and we need to go through as an industry, but everyone would have signed up just because you have no choice,” he said. “We can’t expect any different, we have been fighting bullies forever, unless do something as a group. Road Freight NSW General Manager Simon O’Hara who originally responded on behalf of the carriers were pleased to have some response. “We are pleased that DPWA has listened to the concerns of RFNSW members and will allow some flexibility in the return of the agreements,” he said.
The port access agreement dispute however is simply the most recent issue in a growing list of concerns about the monopoly port operators have over carriers. Last month Patrick Terminal operators were under fire for raising container charges, prompting a strong reaction from a number of road transport groups. This followed increased infrastructure charges introduced by DP World Australia in April. Big Rigs approached the ACCC on the matter of the levy increases. “The ACCC is aware of concerns raised in relation to new surcharges imposed by stevedoring companies at ports,” the ACCC responded. “It is not clear that those matters involve a breach of the Competition and Consumer Act.”
