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By Wendell Roelf CAPE COMMUNITY, June 30 (Reuters)– CMA CGM, the globe’s fourth-largest container delivery line, will certainly enforce emergency situation blockage additional charges at Cape Town port in July as a result of interruptions triggered by the coronavirus, it has actually informed clients.

From July 1 till additional notification, it will certainly enforce an additional charge of $550 for 20-foot containers and also reefers and also a $1,100 additional charge for 40-foot containers and also reefers, CMA claimed in the letter dated June 17 that was seen by Reuters.

Western Cape district, that includes Cape Town, is the center of South Africa’s coronavirus episode, making up concerning half the country’s overall of the greater than 144,000 infections and also concerning 2 thirds of its 2,529 fatalities.

“Port congestion at Cape Town is currently increasing our operational costs and generating severe service disruption for weeks,” CMA CGM composed.

The additional charge would use from Wednesday for non-Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) profession and also from July 18 on FMC profession.

A South Africa- based authorities at CMA CGM did not promptly react to an ask for remark.

State products and also logistics team Transnet, which runs South Africa’s significant ports, claimed the Cape Town container terminal was running at 60% capability and also the multi-purpose terminal at 75%.

“Despite all the challenges, we have been able to reduce the number of vessels at anchorage from 11 vessels to five vessels today,” Velile Dube, acting principal procedures policeman at Transnet Port Terminals, claimed in a declaration on Tuesday.

He claimed the variety of personnel has actually been boosted to help in reducing blockage impacting mostly citrus exports from Cape Town, the nation’s primary fresh fruit export center.

The Citrus Growers Association claimed container exports from the Western Cape were currently primarily being trucked to Port Elizabeth and also the Port of Ngqura in Eastern Cape.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) informed clients this month it would certainly divide its primary European solution and also established a short-term path calling at Cape Town regular to relieve blockage. An MSC firm authorities was not promptly offered to comment.

(Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Promit Mukherjee and also Edmund Blair)

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