VietNamNet Bridge – The service providers at the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port complex have complained of hardship when shipping agents decidedly don’t pay the container handling charges in accordance with the new prices levels as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.

Millions of dollars have not paid

Deputy General Director of the Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) Nguyen Xuan Ky said many shipping firms, including NYK, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd (MOL), OOCL, have not paid the container handling fees yet. They said they were still waiting for the Ministry of Finance’s reply to their proposal relating to the implementation of the Decision No. 1661.

The Decision, related on July 15, 2013, sets the minimum service fee frame for the import-export container loading and unloading services.

The service fees for 20,40, and over 40 feet containers are $46, $68 and $75, respectively. The fees for empty containers are $29, $43 and $48, respectively.

Meanwhile, the fees for cold-storage or oversize containers would be negotiable between the service providers and clients, but they must not be lower than the stipulated levels.

“The total fee the shipping firms have to pay has reached over $1.2 million. The figure would be increasing rapidly if the payment delay cannot be settled,” Ky complained.

One of the reasons shipping firms have cited to delay the implementation of the Ministry of Finance’s decision is that they are still implementing the contracts with different port development businesses. The contracts have been signed on the basis of price competition through bidding.

The shipping firms also said that the service fees at the Cai Mep – Thi Vai port complex are uncompetitive if compared with the other regional ports, and that the service fee increases would force shipping firms to reconsider whether to stay in Vietnam.

The shipping firms have also warned that the Decision No. 1661 may lead to the increased worry about the stability of the policies and the deep intervention of the State into businesses’ operation.

Arguments unconvincing

Explaining the Decision No. 1661, which takes valid from August 1, 2013 to June 30, 2015, a Deputy Minister of Finance said this is a short term solution which aims to stabilize the container handling service fee, thus helping stabilize the socio-economic development in the region.

Later, if necessary, the Ministry of Finance would propose the government to ask for the National Assembly’s permission to add the container handling charges into the list of products and services to be controlled in pricing.

However, if the regional market gets stabilizes, the ministry would not have to intervene the businesses’ operation and would let the charges to be decided by the supply and demand basis, like at other ports.

Head of the Price Control Agency under the Ministry of Finance Nguyen Anh Tuan has affirmed that the arguments made by shipping firms are unreasonable.

He denied the fact that the handling charges in Vietnam are uncompetitive in comparison with other regional ports.

Tuan cited the reports of the Vietnam Seaport Association as saying that the handling charges in Vietnam are $9-200 per container lower than that in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Mai Thanh