Landside gates at DP World’s terminals in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have begun to open, says Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA).
But it’s far from business as usual after the cybersecurity breach at DP World Australia (DPWA) on Friday shut down its operations at Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle that are responsible for 40 per cent of maritime freight in Australia.
CTAA expects that truck servicing times will be slow, and transport operators will be talking closely with their customers about any delays and what is possible to collect in the circumstances.
In Sydney, DPWA has indicated that, “The plan is imports only for today, as we seek to restore normal service. No shows will be waived and First Free Day (FFD) and Last Free Day (LFD) dates have been adjusted.”
Melbourne has indicated that the road is open at West Swanson Terminal (WST) but, “It is slow as we are still having ongoing issues.”
WST is slotting for import deliveries only and have asked trucks to leave the queue if they are trying to deliver exports.
Brisbane has indicated that its Automated Stacking Cranes (ASCs) are dispatching jobs and the gates are operating. Staff are patrolling the Camco Gate Kiosks to offer assistance as required.
“The terminal will be prioritising delivery of the longest dwell time imports and the receival of exports for vessels in order of arrival.”
Earlier this morning (November 13) CTAA was still awaiting an update form Fremantle due to the time difference.
“Again, it’s disappointing that there has been no official statement to customers and stakeholders from DPWA’s corporate headquarters, including about whether their systems have been simply “patched” to prioritise getting containers moving again, or whether this represents a full recovery of systems,” said Neil Chambers, CTAA director.
Earlier this month, DPWA announced an increase in landside fees and charges at each of its four container terminals from January 1, 2024.
In some instances, the fee increases are massive, including a 52.52 per cent increase in the Terminal Access Charge (TAC) for full export containers in Melbourne, a 38.8 per cent increase in Sydney, and a 37.5 per cent jump in Brisbane.