Pelindo II has prepared a system of information and communication technology (ICT) to accelerate goods permit processing online.
The slow process of getting permit for goods clearance from the port and the lack of coordination among government agencies have been dubbed to be the culprits of the sluggish process from loading/unloading goods until its exit from the port (dwelling time) at the Port of Tanjung Priok, Jakarta.
This was announced by President Director of PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) II, RJ Lino, when contacted on Friday (19 June). Lino admitted that he had conveyed this matter to President Joko Widodo. “We want the government bureaucracy to work quickly,” he said.
Furthermore, Lino said that, to shorten the dwelling time, Pelindo II since last year has already set up an information and communication technology (ICT) system.
Its function is to accelerate the goods permit processing at the port in an online manner.
According to Lino, the ICT can also be used by the authorities to communicate with each other in processing permits. “Transportation, quarantine, BPOM (Food and Drug Supervisory Agency), Customs; all can use it in order to get connected. But if the government does not want to use it, what can we do?”
Previously, when conducting a visit to the Port of Tanjung Priok (17 June), President Joko Widodo expressed his disappointment after learning that the dwelling time at Tanjung Priok was still at 5.5 days. This is the longest among the ports in ASEAN countries (see graph).
However, Trade Minister, Rachmat Gobel, was surprised when he visited the Port of Tanjung Priok two days later (19 June). He saw in the dwelling time chart that the average was three days.
“How can it be three days? Because [the President] was angry, right?” said Rachmat to Director General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub), Bobby R Mamahit.
Secretary General of the Association of Indonesian Export Entrepreneurs (GPEI), Toto Dirgantoro, stated that the task of the port is for loading and unloading only. Matters pertaining to the goods coming in and out, as well as moving cargo, are under the authority of Directorate General of Customs and Excise and also the cargo owners.
“The issue is that the unloaded goods still face various obstacles before they get clearance,” he explained.
According to Toto, there are some constraints related to dwelling time at the stage of container document preparations (pre-clearance). For example, there is delay in documentation from the bank after obtaining a letter of credit, so that upon the unloading of the goods from the ship, the document is not yet ready.
According to him, if the objective to resolve the dwelling time is to ensure smooth loading and unloading, the port authority may be the one making regulations. Goods that have been stored for more than four days must be taken out of the terminal and placed in Line Two area of the terminal. The average time needed for loading and unloading, until goods clearance, will only be two days.
“In fact, it could one day, as long as the documents are complete,” said Head of Public Relations of PT Pelindo III, Edy Priyanto, in Surabaya yesterday.
To speed up all the affairs of goods at the port, said Edy, his company uses an online system. “Other ports in Indonesia do not have this.”
According to Edy, in order to have a quick dwelling time, his company requires all importers to have the permits ready before the goods arrive, and not the other way round.
“In fact, if [the permits are] taken care of in advance, the arriving goods can be directly cleared from the port.”
The short dwelling time in Teluk Lamong was also mentioned by Operations Director of Mentari Line, Elly. “There is no queue. Arriving ships can immediately berth so that the goods loading and unloading can be done on schedule,” she concluded.
By: Jessica Sihite