Hundreds in the lurch as cargo companies vanish

Hundreds of Indian expatriates who sent cargo through some agencies in the Gulf have been left in the lurch with many of the companies closing shop and the consignments stuck in Indian ports.

At least 300 people from across the UAE and GCC countries are affected by the non-delivery of cargoes, some of them containing documents like certificates, through agencies that promised doorstep-delivery to their addresses in India.

Many send electronic goods, besides foodstuff and other items for families back home on the promise that the packages will be delivered within a week. Some agents offer cheaper rates of Dh5.50 a kilo, the regular rates is Dh8.

But more than six months later in some cases, the senders have no clue about the whereabouts of the agents.

Mammen PK has been waiting for some four months since sending his consignment in the first week of May 2010 through and agency near National Paints in Sharjah. The once-popular agency picked up the cargo weighing 246 kilos of foodstuff, electrical and electronics items from his residence.

As required, he paid the fees upfront and was promised a delivery date of not more than a week. “Now it is almost four months and the company has closed its office,” he said.

On contacting the company’s agent in India, Mammen was told the consignment will be delivered back in Sharjah since they could not release it due to port congestion in Kochi, Kerala, blamed on the ongoing construction at the Vallarpadam Container Terminal nearby.

The Sharjah office remain closed and its telephone was not answered. One person affiliated with the cargo company said they are trying to get the cargo cleared and delivered to customers. However, he was not able to give any time frame. Customers said they were promised that the cargo will be delivered, but so far nothing happened.

Sudhakaran Nair has been waiting since April when he sent six pieces of cargo from Dubai. “I understand that about 10 containers sent by the cargo company are not cleared from the port. Each container has goods sent by 60 customers from the UAE. Altogether about 600 customers are affected by just one container of a cargo company.”

With no word on the cargo he sent, Nair visited the agency only to find it sealed by the authorities. Similarly, a number of other companies and agencies have disappeared from the market.

Some of these companies are believed to have gone bust with no money to clear the cargo from the port in Kochi.

Shaan TS, General Manager of Babil Cargo confirmed that port congestion was an issue. Cargo companies have to pay de-stuffing charges and additional rent for containers used to pack their cargo. He said Babil Cargo pays Rs225,000 for each container cleared from ports in India.

But customers who were lured by cheaper rates with obscure operators and agencies are now in trouble with their cargoes not delivered, he said.

Such companies don’t have enough resources to pay the additional port and shipping charges, he pointed out.

He attributed the congestion at Cochin Port to shifting the container traffic from Madras Port. Babil cargo raised additional money to pay the additional charges and cleared the cargo. But, he said, the same may not be possible for smaller companies for whom abandoning the cargo is always a better option.

According to him, some 2,000 containers are awaiting clearance at Cochin Port. While the demurrages have been accumulating, daily rents of $10 charged by container companies have also been piling up.

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