Port manager says agents need to save customers from wasting time to collect barrels that are not yet released

Shipping agents are being scolded by Port Manager Darwin
Telemaque for causing their customers the unnecessary hassle of a
trip to the Port, when they know their barrels are not ready.
 

Many times, people show up to the Port seeking to clear a barrel or
e-container when the shipping container has not yet been unstuffed,
Telemaque says.
 
This, he says, creates frustration not only for the customer, but for
his workers, as well, since they have to deal with the complaints and,
at times, people’s aggression.
 
This can be avoided if shipping agents would indicate to their
customers when their barrel is actually ready for collection, the Port
manager says.

Telemaque says the Port is devising mechanisms to assist persons
who have shipped a barrel for the first time and may not know the
procedures.
 
However, he adds, there are some things of which the agents are
aware – including the fact that the barrel might not be ready,
because the Port has not yet worked with an agent to make it
available.
 
Once a barrel or container is available, he says, agents are aware of
it, since they must have a representative present for the opening of a
shipping container. Therefore, persons should not have to travel to
the Port and spend hours – or, sometimes, the entire day – waiting.
 
Telemaque says that a prior initiative dubbed the “Okay to pick up
arrangement” had been implemented, but it seems to have fallen by
the wayside.

It requires a concerted effort by all the players to ensure a seamless
trip to the Port by customers wishing to clear their barrel or e-
container, he says, especially during busy periods like the Christmas
season.

That was Port Manager Darwin Telemaque speaking on State
television