Westgate Ports

Re: Introduction of Empty Container Notification Fee
Westgate Ports Services Pty Ltd
19-43 Enterprize Road
West Melbourne Vic 3003
(PO Box 112 Yarraville VIC 3013)
T 03 8327 8300
F 03 8327 8334
www.westgateports.com.au
We wish to advise you of a new initiative that is about to commence at empty container parks in
Melbourne and Westgate Ports response to it.
A company called Containerchain has been appointed by the empty container parks in Melbourne to
be their information and software provider. In essence, Containerchain will look and feel like
1-Stop does now for the wharf terminals, but for empty container parks instead.
Empty container parks have always suffered from a lack of visibility and information. Unlike the
wharf terminals, empty container parks have never had any method of planning and pre allocating
their labour and equipment to adequately service truck arrivals. This has often meant long delays
and additional costs.
In addition, users of empty container parks (transport companies, freight forwarders, shipping lines
and customs brokers) have never had any method of accessing accurate, real time information to
assist them to plan and execute empty container movements. This has often meant users have
incurred significant additional costs and frustrations.
The idea behind this new initiative is that the empty container parks want to allow park users, such
as transport operators and their clients, visibility into parks, including what releases are active, what
equipment can be picked up, what has been dehired, what truck turnaround times look like etc etc –
just as the wharf terminals do. The end result should be fewer queues, and less (if any) futile trips to
empty parks as well as less phone calls to and from the empty container parks.
The plan as Westgate Ports understand it, is that from 6th May 2011, we as a transport operator
will need to ‘notify’ parks that we are sending trucks to their gate to pick up exports or drop off
import dehires. Containerchain will charge a fee to Westgate Ports as a transport operator for each
notification, and every container will need a separate notification.
Without a notification, we will be
unable to collect or dehire an empty container.
As a result of this, Westgate Ports will be introducing an “Empty Container Notification Fee” of
$10.00 + GST per container. The new fee will be applicable for all containers that are collected or
dehired from any empty container park in Melbourne from 6th May 2011.
This fee will appear on your invoices as a separate line to your agreed rates.
Westgate Ports understands that unlike the VBS at the wharf terminals, Containerchain will not be
applying penalties for notifications that are early, late, missed or unused.
Westgate Ports Services Pty Ltd ABN 35 167 658 205

Westgate Ports is very supportive of the Containerchain initiative generally, because empty
container parks are the last part of the port logistics industry to not have good information and
visibility, and they have therefore always struggled to overcome operational problems such as delays
and futile trips. If these problems can be eliminated the entire industry will benefit.
If you have any queries in regard to this initiative or our response to it, please contact our Customer
Service Team.
Best Regards
Customer Service
Westgate Ports
TEL: 8327 8309
Email: operations@westgateports.com.au
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