WASHINGTON: A plan by Port of Oakland’s terminal operators to work containers on Saturdays and charge fees to weekday clients has been set aside by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) pending further information.
The original plan would see the introduction of full container operations on Saturdays, a rarity in the industry throughout the US. Its purpose would be to clear the Monday-Friday container congestion buildup and it would be paid for by fees charged on those peak-time weekday services.
To be called Oakpass (and modelled somewhat on the PierPass system already running at Los Angeles and Long Beach ports) the plan’s extended gate fee (EGF) would be $17 per twenty-foot equivalent unit (teu) or $34 on a forty-foot container (feu).
Now all movement on this proposal is in abeyance as the FMC – an independent federal agency that regulates US international marine transportation – voted unanimously on Wednesday to request further information from the Port of Oakland’s five terminal operators.
The FMC is looking for answers to queries and uncertainties raised by some of the stakeholders in the port, such as retailers and shippers. Representative bodies for both groups wrote to the FMC with their concerns last month.
