Asoex is calling for immediate action in the worsening at US port dispute which is causing major disruption to shipping schedules and threatening millions of dollars of fruit shipments bound for the US.
Beginning on Thursday, the Pacific Maritime association ceased loading and unloading vessels at 29 West Coast ports for four of the next five days. Combined with last weekend’s two-day shutdown this means that terminals will only have been open for four out of the past ten days.
Asoex greeted the news of the current shutdown with dismay, claiming shipping schedules had already been severely disrupted with fruit having to be diverted to alternative ports and transported by road to West Coast markets.
“There are currently three reefer vessels bound for the US containing around 1.8m cartons of fruit worth an estimated US$45m,” the association said. “On top of this are the extra running costs the vessel, which are in the region of US$16,000 to US$20,000 per day.”
Asoex claimed it was now taking an average of six to seven days to for ships to be discharged at the Port of Los Angeles and said this could rise to 12 days if the present situation continues.
With another five vessels carrying a total of 2.5m cartons scheduled for mid-March, Asoex is calling for the help of the Chilean ambassador to the US to help bring about the immediate resolution of the dispute and avoid further losses.
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