But the action at Port Botany only consisted of one four-hour stoppage in September and a ban on overtime as wharfies battled stevedores over pay and conditions, according to the Maritime Union of Australia.
Dr Asumadu wrote to Infrastructure Minister Michael McCormack in early January asking the federal government to investigate whether the congestion fees being charged were legal and justifiable given that there was no longer any industrial action at Port Botany.
“This is a cost I cannot pass on to my customers, and therefore it threatens the viability of my business,” Dr Asumadu said.
The Australian Financial Review understands the federal government is not planning any action on the congestion fees because it believes they are a matter for state and territory governments.
The International Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association of Australia has suggested that the Australian government create a new agency similar to the US’ Federal Maritime Commission with the authority to review fees charged by shipping lines.
The Freight & Trade Alliance, which represents importers and exporters, has also been pushing for more regulatory oversight of shipping lines.
Shipping Australia, which represents shipping lines, says that in addition to industrial action, congestion at ports is being caused by capacity constraints.
It claims that empty containers are piling up on wharves because priority is being given to unloading the full containers of goods that are imported (Australia imports more goods than it exports).
But Peter van Duyn, industry researcher at Deakin University’s centre for supply chain and logistics, said this week in a letter to Daily Cargo News that shipping lines – which are now making good profits – should also be accepting responsibility for the congestion problem, pointing out that the issue of empty containers on Australian wharves was “nothing new”.
Unions claim shipping lines are leaving containers on wharves because it costs money to load them back on to ships.
Dr Asumadu has also complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which told him it did not regulate shipping line charges.
The ACCC did, however, note the new congestion fees in its annual stevedoring monitoring report and said it would watch developments closely.
“We consider these [fees] should be temporary (and only if justified and reasonable) and not become embedded fees borne by importers and exporters,” the ACCC said in the report.
Importers are also angry about soaring port access fees (also known as infrastructure charges) which are charged by stevedores such as Patrick, DP World and Hutchison Port Holdings.
Port access charges have jumped by $87.6 million, or 52 per cent, since 2018-19 to $256.4 million in 2019-20, according to the ACCC.
A spokesman for Mr McCormack said that infrastructure and transport ministers had endorsed a plan to develop voluntary national guidelines for stevedore fees and that the National Transport Commission would work with industry to develop the guidelines this year.
