The Logistics Sector on the Southern Shores of the Western ... - cetmo

October 2010<strong>The</strong> <strong>Logistics</strong> <strong>Sector</strong>on the Southern Shores of the Western Mediterranean• <strong>The</strong> GNMTC’s main problem is training personnel, particularly the crews of its ships, whoare all Libyan. At present these crews are qualified to Libyan standards but need toreceive better training in order to bring them up to international standards, but this is notpossible due to political issues (Libya is not a signatory of the Paris Memorandum ofUnderstanding on the control of quality and safety of vessels).• Tighter control over Libya’s coasts is considered necessary to prevent illegal dumping byvessels and tackle the current problem of pollution of Libya’s coastal waters.<strong>The</strong> Perspective of Private OperatorsBelow are the main comments and proposals put forward by the interviewees from privatesectorcompanies and organizations.In terms of activity, the opinions expressed and requirements outlined by the intervieweesare described below.<strong>The</strong> perspective of forwarding agents.<strong>The</strong>re are around 300 forwarding agents in Libya and each of them has its own customsagent, as such agents are necessary for carrying out the official procedures for internationaltrade operations. <strong>The</strong> forwarding agents feel that the customs system is changing and arestarting to introduce scanners to speed up manual controls and IT to process documentation.In general, each company works with fixed clients, as in Libya personal trust is moreimportant than marketing.<strong>The</strong> main problems faced by this profession are as follows:• Forwarding agents are still not defined in legal terms, although the Ministry ofTransportation is preparing legislation to correct this. <strong>The</strong> professions of shipping agentand customs agent are defined in legal terms, however, which puts forwarding agents ata competitive disadvantage. For example, they cannot own customs warehouses or carryout deconsolidation activities. As forwarding agents are not recognized by customs, theydo not have access to direct information on the progress of operations and must maintaina constant watch over their cargo in order to fulfil the commitments they make to theirclients.• In terms of international trade operations, forwarding agents face many difficulties incarrying out official procedures for temporary import and export using the ATA Carnet.<strong>The</strong>refore, it is difficult for them to obtain insurance in Libya and they must obtain itabroad at increased cost.• <strong>The</strong>y have to subcontract road transport, as it is not economically viable for them to havetheir own fleet of vehicles, but the quality of services available is not high. <strong>The</strong> Ministry ofTransportation is considering a licensing system for all the road-transport companies as away of ensuring professional levels of service, but at present such levels are difficult tofind.This situation has resulted in many forwarding agents being unable to take responsibility forthe outcome of operations, as they are only able to provide the means. On the other hand,they are not under any pressure or directed by clients, who neither complain nor demandspecific levels of service.<strong>The</strong> forwarding agents believe that the integration of the Maghreb would be very positive forall the countries in the region but realize that it would be necessary to have common144 CETMO