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"As a general rule, the most successful person in life is the one who has the best information." - Benjamin Disraeli'
1 December 2017 

TCO Gazette Links

News Headlines

VICT Industrial Action
Receivals and deliveries of containers at the Victorian International Container Terminal have now been held up since Monday morning due to an industrial action picket line. A "community action" group, reportedly supported by the MUA has been blocking vehicles and the gates in protest against the sacking of a VICT worker. VICT claim the worker was found to have been ineligible for a Maritime Security Identification Card (MSIC) and claim the worker gave them incorrect information in relation to their eligibility. Only persons with a valid MSIC licence are able to work within the secure confines of container terminals.

The MUA and picketers claim the worker was treated unfairly and are refusing to allow containers to flow in and out of the terminal until their complaints are heard. VICT were yesterday seeking assitance from the courts to force the picket line to disperse, but so far there have been no results. Today, the picket continues, and there are now calls for Daniel Andrews to intervene. The OOCL Texas has now been re-routed to Patrick for unloading. Any delays to your containers will be communicated to you directly by our transport team.

Melbourne North East Link
Starting off a big week for Victorian road transport announcements, Premier Daniel Andrews detailed the route for the $16.5bn North East Link project. Connecting the Ring Road and the Eastern Freeway at Springvale Road, the route will include a 5km tunnel underneath the Yarra River. Transit times are expected to be reduced by up to 30 minutes, including reduced times from the airport. It is expected that up to 15,000 trucks per day will utilise the new road once finished, further reducing congestion on local roads.

West Gate Tunnel Update
Expected to commence early 2018, the West Gate Tunnel Project this week received sign off on the environmental impact studies. Upon completion it is proposed that a 24/7 'ban' on trucks through the roads of inner west Melbourne be implemented. The Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA), representing majority of transport operators throughout Melbourne have spoke out about the issue, calling on the government to give transport operators a fair go with toll pricing to accesss the West Gate Tunnel.

CTAA director Neil Chambers said, “not surprisingly, container transport operators in the inner and outer Western industrial suburbs undertake numerous truck trips to and from the Port of Melbourne during the day, at night and on weekends, to service vital container trade volumes through the biggest container port in Australia. With the government announcement that 24/7 truck bans will be applied to many inner western suburb roads once the West Gate Tunnel is completed, it is vital that the government ensures that container transport operators receive a “fair go” with the tolling structure and prices.”

“The container transport task to and from the West of Melbourne comprises of full import and export containers, as well as empty container movements. Indeed, the largest export commodity through the Port of Melbourne is empty containers being repatriated overseas by shipping lines where they can best be used for their next full cargo. The movement of empty containers is therefore a vital part of the landside logistics chain, but the cost pressures in doing so are high, therefore a high toll price would be unsustainable,” Mr Chambers observed.

Christmas Detention
Who can believe that it is December already!!?? Time is moving fast and so are the containers into the country. Additional costs during the Christmas and New Year period are always an issue, and with shipping lines being tougher and more Scrooge-like than ever, container detention must be taken into consideration. Transporters and empty container yards will close around 12pm on Friday 22nd December, and won't be back to work until Wednesday 27th December. On top of this, transporters are always extremely busy during these times, so there are likely to be delays in the ability to collect empty containers and dehire them quickly. Please take the time to plan ahead and work on getting your containers unloaded in time to avoid costly detention. If you have any queries on these issues or how we can help you, please contact our Transport team via email to transport@tomax.com.au.

Reminder - DPW Surcharges
Just a reminder that DP World have announced that they are increasing their levies in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. DP World point to rising rental and energy costs as reasons for the increases which will be applied from 1 January 2018. The new surcharges will be as follows, but will be subject to an admin fee added on by transport operators who have to pay the levies up front:
Melbourne: $49.20 + GST per container
Sydney: $37.65 + GST per container
Brisbane: $38.75 + GST per container

Friday Caption Contest
This week our Caption Contest is back! Check out the picture below, send us your submission for a funny caption, and the entry judged the funniest will win a hand delivered wine prize pack. Email your entries to sales@tomax.com.au.