Since the beginning of 2007, we have all been facing significant challenges in handling the cargo volumes to and from St Petersburg. The growth in volume was staggering and specifically the cargo did not move to its final destination at the same pace as new cargo arrived.
Several measures were taken to stimulate the throughput. In conjunction with the market, we for instance implemented a temporary import emergency surcharge for traffics into St Petersburg.
The terminals implemented other measures, such as terminal quota systems, which had a direct impact on our ability - as a common feeder line - to accept cargo.
During the second half of 2007, we decided to cancel the mentioned temporary import emergency surcharge as the terminal situation in St Petersburg improved. However, at the same time we clearly advised that should the terminal situation change again, we might be forced to re-introduce the surcharge at short notice.
During the past weeks, we have seen the situation deteriorate, and dry as well as reefer containers are occupying valuable terminal capacity for longer periods, which is why we have to call for immediate action by our customers.
Joint emergency meetings between terminals and liner agencies, feeder lines, etc., have been held in St Petersburg recently. These meetings focused on the current situation and called for corrective action among all concerned to ensure timely removal of the cargo from the terminals.
We shall continue to monitor the development for immediate improvements. At the same time, we take this opportunity to highlight the fact that if no improvement is noticeable in the foreseeable future, we see no other alternative than to re-implement an emergency surcharge at short notice.
As clearly indicated, the situation in St Petersburg calls for immediate action by our customers to minimize the dwell time of shipments at terminals by ensuring that all necessary procedures are in place to speed up removal of the containers. In this way, our customers may directly exert influence on the re-introduction of emergency surcharges.
