Vietnam, China charge on THC

The Terminal Handling Charge (THC) at ports in Vietnam will be charged as much as 30 US dollars per TEU and 50 dollars per FEU from next year. China is also considering additional THC charges from next January or March, the IADA reported.

The Intra Asia Discussion Agreement (IADA) held a ship owner's meeting on November 6 and 7 in the Regal Hotel, Hong Kong.

The main issues of concerned were THC charges in Vietnam and China. Vietnamese ports already received permission from the Vietnamese government to levy the THC as of January 1, 2002, which has been set at 30 dollars per TEU and 50 dollars per FEU.

THC charges in China should also be settled on from next January or March. Charges will most likely be 370 RMB (Chinese renminbi) per 20-foot dry cargo container and 560 RMB per 40-foot dry cargo container. Refer container charges will be as much as 410 RMB per 20-foot unit and 610 RMB per 40-foot unit.

Amid container charges concentrating on Northern China such as Shanghai, Tianjin, and Dalian, Shanghai will likely levy additional THC charges over and above the current SCT (Shanghai Container Terminal Charge). Ports in southern China, such as Guangzhou, will be excluded as they already charge for it. The exact date that additional charges take effect will be decided on by MOFTEC (Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation).

Free time in the port of Hong Kong will be handled by another special committee. The Korean delegation asked for cooperation on enforcing a minimum rates system in Vietnam and Malaysia inbound trades from other foreign shipping companies.

The Korean delegates consisted of the managing director at Dongnama Line, Kim Un-shik, the chief of operation divison at Hyundai Merchant Marine, Lee, Seok-dong, Shin, Hyun-sang from Heung-A Shipping, Sohn, Young-ho from Hanjin Shipping, the Hong Kong resident agent of the Korea Maritime Transportation Corporation (KMTC), Hong, Won-pyo, and the director of the IADA Korean bureau, Lee, Seo-gu. IADA has 36 member shipping companies, including 5 Korean shipping companies, Dongnama Line, Heung-A Shipping, HMM, Hanjin Shipping, and the KMTC, as well as 31 other foreign shipping companies.