Industry rails against Patrick Port Botany fee hike

By Sineva Toevai

The stevedore announced it would start lifting the fees for its Port Botany services from $15 per container to $25 on September 1.

“With no improvement in rail mode share or rail efficiency expected in the foreseeable future and Patrick costs continuing to rise, Patrick has no choice but to increase charges,” the company’s divisional general manager Paul Garaty said.

“It is unreasonable for anyone to expect Patrick to provide services without recovering its costs. No commercial entity including Sydney Ports would accept this situation.”

But David Knight of Qube Logistics warned that the New South Wales rail freight industry would be destroyed if Patrick’s fee increase went ahead.

“They are double charging shipping companies,” Knight said.

“If they are allowed to get away with it, rail in NSW will be killed overnight.”

Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC) chief executive Grant Gilfillan on Monday accused Patrick of continually acting outside the spirit of the Port Botany Landside Improvement Strategy (PBLIS) and called on the state government to intervene.

“Sydney Ports will now be finalising a submission to the minister for ports and waterways to regulate key components of the PBLIS rail program at Port Botany,” Gilfillan said.

“Matters under consideration for such a regulation include specific mode share targets for the stevedores, setting a maximum on rail pricing at the port interface and ensuring there is price equity between rail and road transport.”

NSW ports minister Paul McLeay said SPC's recommendations would be considered within the PBLIS framework.

“The NSW Government has a long-term target of moving 40% of freight to and from Port Botany by rail,” McLeay said.

“We have set this rail mode share target in order to minimise increases to the number of trucks in the port precinct and on the M5 as part of wider reforms aiming to bring greater certainty, fairness and efficiency to the port.”

Port Botany’s other stevedore, DP World, planned to keep its rail fees unchanged for the time being, a spokesman said.
Patrick’s price hike had taken Sydney Ports Corporation by surprise, Mr Gilfillan said. 

“We acknowledge the positive steps taken by Patrick to withdraw their initial proposed rules and price increases in late July and to commit to discuss any future rules through an ACCC-authorised process in the Port Botany Rail Team,” Mr Gilfillan said. 

“For Patrick to now propose a charge of this magnitude for a service which is already paid for by the shipping lines, and ultimately the cargo owner, is quite extraordinary.”

“As we begin to implement PBLIS reforms at Port Botany, Sydney Ports will not stand back and allow Patrick to unilaterally set its own rules and charges at the road and rail interface.”

Source: Lloyd’s List DCN – www.lloydslistdcn.com.au