Feeder operators hit out at global carriers over bunker fees
Operators want their share of fuel surcharges paid by shippers
Feeder lines have called on global carriers to pass on some of the bunker surcharge revenue being squeezed out of shippers or risk service levels deteriorating.
Lines have come under heavy fire from shippers over the surcharges, and one leading intra-Asia feeder company told IFW that, despite a series of them imposed on shippers in Asia, most carriers had refused to compensate feeder operators for rising fuel costs.
“We are having trouble getting these bunker surcharges passed on,” said Dhrubajyoti Das, executive director of intra-Asia specialist Samudera Shipping Line.
“We only want a small amount to cover rising costs. Now the main line operators [MLOs] are in better financial health, we are just asking them to share a little, so we can keep services up.
“It’s more than six months since we’ve seen anything passed back relating to our higher fuel costs.”
Bill Smart, MD of Bengal Tiger Line, said where payments had been made there had been a substantial time lag between costs increasing and higher payments from carriers.
It was essential, he told IFW, that the rising cost of fuel was reflected in payments to feeder operators if they were “to maintain the level of services required by the trade”.
A spokesman for Sea Consortium, which provides feeder services across Asia and the Middle East, said higher container volumes usually indicated that oil prices would increase.
If they did rise further, this would pose problems for those feeder operators not covered by adequate bunker inflation contractual clauses, he said.
“If MLOs and others are right that consumption will continue to come back, then we envisage greater problems during this year, as energy costs will surely rise with it,” he added.
Lines have come under heavy fire from shippers over the surcharges, and one leading intra-Asia feeder company told IFW that, despite a series of them imposed on shippers in Asia, most carriers had refused to compensate feeder operators for rising fuel costs.
“We are having trouble getting these bunker surcharges passed on,” said Dhrubajyoti Das, executive director of intra-Asia specialist Samudera Shipping Line.
“We only want a small amount to cover rising costs. Now the main line operators [MLOs] are in better financial health, we are just asking them to share a little, so we can keep services up.
“It’s more than six months since we’ve seen anything passed back relating to our higher fuel costs.”
Bill Smart, MD of Bengal Tiger Line, said where payments had been made there had been a substantial time lag between costs increasing and higher payments from carriers.
It was essential, he told IFW, that the rising cost of fuel was reflected in payments to feeder operators if they were “to maintain the level of services required by the trade”.
A spokesman for Sea Consortium, which provides feeder services across Asia and the Middle East, said higher container volumes usually indicated that oil prices would increase.
If they did rise further, this would pose problems for those feeder operators not covered by adequate bunker inflation contractual clauses, he said.
“If MLOs and others are right that consumption will continue to come back, then we envisage greater problems during this year, as energy costs will surely rise with it,” he added.
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