Port congestion, new Indonesia regs & US military move shake-up

Increase in European Congestion

European port congestion continued to increase this summer as worldwide container terminals reported severe operational challenges.

That’s according to an article in Transporto Europa, which mentioned that congestion in northern Europe continued to increase last month with Rotterdam especially vulnerable.

As a result of increased congestion, shipping company Maersk announced it would drop the port from its TA5service from 25June, routing vessels directly from Felixstowe to Hamburg. Antwerp-Bruges is also under strain with delays of up to 55 hours.  The congestion has had a knock-on effect on German ports with increased waiting times in Hamburg and Bremerhaven.  

New Household Goods Regulations in Indonesia

International moving company Asian Tigers has announced an update to import regulations for household goods.

The new rules are set to come into force this week.

According to Fedemac the new rules include:

• Each box on the packing list must clearly itemized with the following details: item description, quantity, unit, estimated value, currency, and item condition.
• All Indonesian citizens returning to Indonesia must register through the Peduli WNI portal before departing from their country of residence.
• Foreign nationals intending to import household goods into Indonesia must meet the following criteria: hold a valid work visa; possess a valid IMTA (Work Permit). Holders of non-work-related visas (e.g. investor, business, or retirement visas) are not eligible to import personal household goods under this regulation.
• All personal effects must arrive in Indonesia within three months of the shipper’s arrival. Shipments arriving after this period will be treated as general imports and will be subject to standard customs clearance procedures.
• All import shipments to Indonesia for foreign nationals (other than diplomats) are required to pay Import VAT, which will be calculated during the customs clearance process.

The company said that it is closely monitoring the new regulations and will continue to provide updates as more detailed guidance becomes available.

International Association of Movers to support new US task force

The International Association of Movers (IAM) has written to the Permanent Change of Station Task Force (PCS TF) offering industry participation and support.

The news comes as late last month, the United States Department of Defense announced that it had terminated the household goods moving contract with HomeSafe Alliance LLC citing the contractor's inability to fulfill its obligations and deliver high quality moves to service members.

IAM President Brian Limperopulos mentioned the company’s commitment to supporting military families and cited the problems that will face the force in the future:

“This is massive news for the moving industry. US Transportation Command must now rely on the current ‘tender of service’ programme to plug the gap left by the Global Household Goods Contract. IAM members and other moving providers have served military families faithfully throughout the intended transition and we hope this faith is repaid with greater collaboration and collective problem solving on the challenges facing military moving as we move into the future.”

The letter pointed out that the industry had suffered under the previous contract with a resulting lack of labour and drivers.  Despite that, IAM said that it believes that a modernized, adaptive tender-based approach offers proven advantages: quality service, flexibility, institutional knowledge, and built-in continuity. The association reaffirmed its members’ commitment to supporting the Task Force in an any way that may be helpful.