Transportation Ministry Urged to Act Tougher

Transportation Ministry Urged to Act Tougher

JAKARTA – Indonesia Stevedoring Company Association (APBMI) urged Transportation Ministry to halt all stevedoring fees at the port which does not have legal basis so logistic cost does not increase.

APBMI’s Chairman of Port Division, Herbin Polin Marpaung, said the urge was delivered so stevedoring fee issue in some ports will be solved immediately.

According to him, Transportation Ministry cannot let stevedoring fee issue keep occurring by reasoning that it is the transaction between stevedoring firm (PBM) and port operator or business-to-business activity.

“The regulation is very clear that port operator or port business entity (BUP) is prohibited to impose fees or costs in any forms which do not have service on it,” he told Bisnis on Saturday (1/31).

He responded Transportation Ministry’s decision returning stevedoring fee issue in Cirebon Port to Cirebon-Chapter Pelindo II and PBM.

Herbin asserted not all issues at ports can be solved business-to-business and the deal does not refer to the regulation issued by the government.

“The government’s role as the overseer of economic growth at port must be played well,” he explained.

Stevedoring fee issue in some Indonesian ports, he added, has been a national issue since 2010 and has been delivered by APBMI several times.

Even, he said, Maritime Transportation Directorate General has instructed Port Operator in Indonesia to audit the fee since 2012.

“However, until now, there is no emphasis from the government over stevedoring fee at the port. Ironically, currently the government does not participate when there is a b-to-b deal by both parties,” he said.

He said Transportation Ministry as a regulator at the port does not play its significant role. “Consequently, deviation occurs upon implementation at field with low surveillance,” he said.

So far, APBMI recorded stevedoring service fee in some Indonesian ports reaches billion rupiahs per year.

Herbin also stated the name for stevedoring fee in some ports may vary. In Belawan Port, the fee is called port facility maintenance service which was previously called PBM contribution while in Sunda Kepala Port, it is called PBM contribution. In Panjang Port, its name is handling fee/share handling.

“Belawan Port sees monitoring and cleaning services up to IDR 2,250 per tons. This tariff clearly violates PM 6/2013 and PM15/2014,” he said.

If there are PBMs intending to pay the fee, he explained, it is because they are forced to do it rather than not obtaining port service including vessel moorage service.

APBMI Chairman for Organization, Romulo S, said almost all PBMS in Indonesia complain over stevedoring fee. They are located in the ports of Cirebon, Belawan, and Panjang.

Even, stevedoring service fee conflict case in Panjang Port has been dealt with local court but until now, the issue has not been settled.

“We, the employers at port, have paid fees through port tariff imposed based on government’s regulation run by BUP,” he said.

Maritime Transportation Director General, Bobby R. Mamahit, said the government’s maneuver is clear that it does not give tolerance over port service which has no regulation based on the prevailing laws.

“B-to-b activities will occur if available. And in this case, the government cannot intervene but if there are no such activities, it cannot be implemented,” he said. (Bisnis Indonesia)