Truck queues at the Port of Durres, additional costs for operators and risk of damage to goods

For almost a week, long lines of trucks with commercial goods have formed near the Port of Durres, waiting to enter or exit the container terminal.

Trucking operators contacted by Monitor claimed that the delays are being caused by a lack of specialized container handling equipment, particularly reachstacker equipment, which is used to unload import containers and load export ones.

This situation is expected to cause financial damage and additional costs to freight transport operators, many of whom also import products that are being kept in refrigerated environments.

On the other hand, the Durrës Port Authority (APD) confirmed to Monitor that the situation is mainly related to restrictions on the circulation of heavy tonnage vehicles during weekends, imposed as part of the tourist season measures.

According to the State Police, in implementation of the joint instruction of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, from June 19 to September 15, restrictions are applied to the circulation of goods transport vehicles weighing over 7.5 tons.

The restrictions apply on Friday from 3:00 PM to 12:00 PM, as well as all day Saturday and Sunday, with the aim of easing traffic and ensuring road safety on tourist routes.

The Port Authority also claims that the terminal has the necessary equipment for container processing and that it is operating at full capacity. According to the APD, there are 8 reachstackers (a tool used for handling containers) available for container processing.

The situation with the long lines brings to mind the problems that the container terminal at the Port of Durres has encountered over the years.

After the unilateral termination in 2018 of the concession contract with the Turkish company "Container Terminal Durrës", a case that was won by the state in Arbitration, avoiding the 100 million euro damage bill that was requested by the company, the operation of the terminal has gone through several phases of administration.

After the termination of this contract, the service was given for 5 years to the Maltese company, "Hili Company Limited", represented in Albania by "Mariner Adriatic".

The implementation of the contract worth around 35 million euros was often accompanied by many concerns from shipping line operators about the malfunctioning of the infrastructure and the additional costs they had to pay due to these problems.

In 2023, the terminal faced a similar situation, when for almost a month from the end of May to the end of June, container ships waited in line for days to unload goods.

At that time, shipping line operators raised concerns about the lack of equipment and the malfunctioning of loading and unloading facilities.

At that time, the operators unanimously claimed that the main cause of this critical situation was the lack of funds after providing this service to the Maltese company, "Mariner Adriatic".

Five maritime transport companies – CMA CGM Albania, Mediterranean Shipping Company Albania, Stacon Shipping Al, Hub Adriatic and Stella Mare, addressed a letter on May 25, 2023 to Prime Minister Edi Rama, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Durrës Port Authority, requesting urgent intervention to resolve the situation. Monitor