Smooth sailing through Southampton 18


What exactly happens when a container reaches the UK? Two experts from DP World Southampton explain.


It all starts when the containership leaves its last port of loading in, say, Asia, explains DP World Southampton senior account manager, Neil Fletcher. Essentially, the process is one of unloading the import boxes and loading export ones, but with a large containership with perhaps 8,000 boxes on board, it can be a complex process – and moreover, one that needs to happen within a tight timescale. Careful planning is needed to ensure that boxes unloaded from the ship do not get in the way of those being loaded, or vice-versa. Fletcher says: “We then get an


electronic file of what containers are on that ship so that we can plan what we are going to do in advance. Then, one or two days before the ship actually arrives we get another file which tells us where everything actually is on the ship” - (known as a BAPLIE file). The DP World


Southampton, one of four companies in the UK that provide community network systems for ports, airports and the freight industry. As well as providing the essential electronic link between Customs and the freight industry, CNS also links to other players involved in the process such as freight forwarders, container hauliers, train operators and ports and terminals. CNS will also provide the system for the new London Gateway port and also operates similar services to the express freight industry and much of the Port of London. He explains: “The ship planners


Southampton ship planner who has been allocated to that particular ship will look at the distribution of the cargo on the ship and examines yet another file received from the shipping line’s central planning department (the MOVINS file) which tells him which export boxes need to be loaded onto the ship (along with any that need to be taken off and then re-stowed for operational


purposes.) Often, the information in the various files will be contradictory and will need to be reconciled. Eventually, though, the planners will get a more-or-less perfect picture of what will be happening when the ship ties up in Southampton. Matthew Bradley takes up the


story. He is business development manager at CNS, a technology company owned by DP World


First Felixstowe call for revamped Transatlantic service


have built up a picture of the containers on the ship, but by and large that doesn’t


tell you what’s


actually inside them. So in parallel with the information on the boxes, the shipping line sends a customs manifest


into our community


system, and that provides the foundation for a lot of processes that need to happen.” For instance, before the ship


arrives a freight forwarder can find the details of their cargo, ‘claim’ it and do a declaration to customs, all before the ship arrives. The manifest is also sent to other bodies with an interest in arriving cargo such as Defra or Port Health. Neil Fletcher continues. “Also


before the ship arrives, the ship planner will write a programme for the cranes, to ensure that the ship is turned around as soon as possible. And we don’t necessarily finish all the offloading before we start loading again.” The good news for importers


through Southampton, unlike some other UK ports, is that containers can be collected almost immediately they hit the quay, adds Neil Fletcher. (It’s to do with the type of handling equipment used; DP World Southampton uses straddle carriers that only stack containers two or three-high; other ports use rubber- tyred gantries – RTGs - which stack containers in blocks five or six high. While the latter uses quay space more efficiently, the blocks then have to be broken down again before they can be loaded onto trucks.) Matthew Bradley again: “When


The Port of Felixstowe celebrated the first call of The New World Alliance’s revamped Americas Europe Express (AEE) service on 3 March. It offers shippers westbound transit times of eight days between Felixstowe and New York. TNWA (APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Mitsui OSK Lines),


has deployed high-reefer-capacity ships on the weekly service offering an average effective space of 3,200teu and, as with the Alliance’s APX service that already calls at the Port of Felixstowe, Maersk Line will take slots. It also marks the return of Hyundai to Felixstowe as a vessel operator. The first eastbound vessel is


expected to arrive at the Suffolk port on 24 March. The AEE service rotation is: Manzanillo (Panama), Charleston (US), New York (US), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Bremerhaven (Germany), Felixstowe (UK), New York (US), Charleston (US), and Manzanillo (Panama).


the ship is discharged, two more things have to happen before the container can be picked up by the truck and go out of the gate. First of all, customs clearance has to take place. The vast majority of shipments are declared to customs before the ship arrives.” Essentially, the process nowadays involves inputting information from the manifest


into the Customs ‘Chief’ computer system. Once declared, customs, through Chief, will then decide, based on electronic profiles in the system, whether the consignment should be cleared and is good to go (Route 6), whether a documentary check is needed (Route 1) or a physical examination is needed (Route 2). Some consignments are also moved under bond and are cleared at an inland location. Typically, this facility would be used for containers with several


shippers’ consignments


(‘groupage’) to avoid one problem shipment holding up all the others. Some importers will also store under bond at inland locations to defer VAT and duty until they actually need the goods. “Secondly,”


Matthew Bradley


continues, “the shipping line needs to give a commercial release” - essentially, that it is satisfied that freight charges have been or will be paid. In Southampton this is on the basis of a PIN code generated either by the shipping line or CNS and which is given to whoever needs it – most likely the road haulier sent to pick up the container. There is a third and final condition


that must be fulfilled before cargoes can be released bodies such as Defra, Port Health and the Forestry Commission need to be satisfied that the cargo does not pose a risk; some, like nuts, are subject to mandatory checks. Since 2011 a new Import Control


System (ICS) has been overlaid on the existing procedures. Under this Brussels initiative, the shipping line has to make a declaration of what cargo has being loaded before the vessel reaches its first call in the EU. The information is similar but not identical to the manifest produced for customs purposes. At the moment, ICS is operating


on a forwarder to forwarder basis but the Government’s ultimate aim is to include shippers and consignees in the process and to link it to a ‘risk management engine’ that will alert the authorities to any suspicious trade patterns. DP World Southampton has in the past also been involved in the US 100% container scanning scheme, whereby scanning equipment was installed with the aim of scanning every container destined for that country. Washington is however having a rethink and the equipment has been removed. So the box is ready to leave the


port, but what about the haulier sent to pick it up? These days, truck drivers cannot just arrive at the port gate ‘on spec’ in the hope that their


container will be ready to collect (or at least, are discouraged from doing so). Haulage companies must access an internet-based vehicle booking system (VBS) to obtain a pick-up time. The VBS is capable of handling up to 180 vehicle-bookings and hour and is an essential tool in keeping the port of Southampton running smoothly, says Matthew Bradley. While VBS is fully automated, a telephone help desk is available if, for example, a truck on its way to the port is delayed. He adds: “If there are delays to


inbound cargo, it’s usually because it hasn’t been customs-cleared or because the haulier hasn’t got a PIN number. Although ‘port congestion’ is often blamed for delays, it’s rarely the case these days.” Trucks are tracked throughout their journey through DP World Southampton, which can log exactly how long they have been in the port and where they have been. The old excuse for a late arrival back at the depot that “the port was congested” simply won’t wash any more. Containers are loaded on and off


trucks in one of three designated transfer areas at Southampton. With the container discharged


from the ship, messages are sent to the shipping line to tell it that the box has been landed and the line then tells the freight forwarder and, if requested, the importer via the VBS website. Further messages are sent when the container leaves the terminal on the truck. There is just one final check to


be made before the truck leaves the port, adds Neil Fletcher – the seal check. The truck driver inputs the seal number which is checked against the commercial import manifest. It’s a final guarantee that the goods have not been tampered with en route or while they were in port. Around


36% of DP World


Southampton’s traffic is by rail. The procedure for boxes moving in and out of the port by train is essentially the same. Freightliner, which operates direct rail services to and from a terminal inside the port, gets the authority from the shipping line to release import boxes and uses the PIN numbers in the same way. DP World Southampton collects boxes and moves them to the rail terminal two at a time using ‘sprinter’ straddle carriers where it collates and stacks them according to which train they are scheduled to use. The other rail operator, DB Schenker moves boxes by road trailer to its depot just outside the port area so these are treated exactly like normal truck movements.


Issue 2 2012


///NEWS


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