Cargo system up and ready

Port officials are upbeat about the new logistics network in place to clear goods, which includes an essential cargo delivery by appointment system.

And according to Chairperson of the Barbados Port Inc Senator Lisa Cummins going forward businesses and individuals can expect shorter turnaround times at the Harbour Road facility given that all agencies are now on the portal.

The delivery by appointment system, which started on Tuesday, allows port officials to control the number of people who would turn up at, and enter, the Harbour Road location on any given day to clear items, giving them a better handle on the free flow of the operations.

It also allows all necessary agents to better coordinate so that items could leave the port in no more than three days.

Before the appointment system and all other agencies joining the network, it could take up to ten days or more to clear goods.

However, after emerging from a meeting on Friday Cummins told Barbados TODAY there were now two dedicated teams at the Port responsible on the backend for getting the essential cargo and urgent essential cargo coming in at this time.

“We have a mandatory 72-hour clearance period in place. All essential cargo must be cleared within three days. Urgent essential cargo we are expecting to have those cleared within one day once they have been discharged from the vessel,” she said.

In the event those cargos remain in port for three to five days, Cummins said there would be “an immediate escalation” up to the executive leader of the port and the Customs team to intervene and identify where the bottleneck is in the system that hinders the release.

She explained: “As of Tuesday, for the first time since the ASYCUDA World system was introduced, we now have all of the regulatory agencies, commerce, health, agriculture, veterinary services and even the licensing authority online with the Customs Department and they are meant to be expediting those clearances all by using the online system.”

She gave the assurance that the new network would remain in place even after the pandemic, adding that it was best practice globally and it was necessary especially now to protect the workforce, clients and the integrity of the port.

“So we have to manage the number of persons who come into the port at any given time,” she said.

She dismissed any notion that the online network to clear items came about only because of the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing out that it has always been in the works and getting the once troublesome ASYCUDA World system correct was just one of the steps in the process.

“We had already started to implement some sort of security system at our gate to allow for entry into the port as a border facility and we are simultaneously working with the development partners to have what is now called a port community system,” said Cummins.

“We submitted the first draft of that project proposal in the first week of the shutdown, so this is meant to be what is called a legacy project. When we come out of the pandemic . . . this helps a lot of people who were struggling with the notion of e-governance and e-commerce,” she added.

She said the only thing now outstanding was the legislative framework that harmonizes how the facility functions across all the agencies.

“We already had in train the development of an e-platform for payment to be rolled out in June but that was expedited. Outside of that, the only reason the port has been able to respond in the shortest possible time that we have, is because much of this work was already envisioned in advanced,” said Cummins, who said the port was well on its way to become the most efficient and green hub in the western hemisphere by 2030.

She told Barbados TODAY that the Bridgetown Port has been clearing up to 500 containers per week since the pandemic, and that the staff complement remained the same with some workers operating on a shift system at this time, and administrative workers operating remotely.

“We had about a 30 per cent decrease in cargo operation and of that, 20 per cent is linked to our cruise operations. We would routinely receive cargo for the purpose of provisioning our ships when they call on Barbados during a normal cruise season,” she explained, adding that there was never any contemplation by Government to close the Port during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Comptroller of Customs Owen Holder told Barbados TODAY he was pleased with the smooth flow of the new system so far and he expected things to continue that way after the pandemic.

Additionally, he said during the pandemic period officials would try to identify any kinks.

“All the agencies are on board. There should be no issues,” said Holder.

“We are using this time to fine tune and tweak any process we might need to, to ensure that after the COVID-19 pandemic there will be a speedier response to the release of goods and the appointment system will help with this,” he said.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb