HONG KONG BODY ASSESSES RESUMPTION OF U.S. PORT OPERATIONS

HONG KONG BODY ASSESSES RESUMPTION OF U.S. PORT OPERATIONS    A Hong Kong government inter-departmental group is assessing the delays affecting    shipments from Hong Kong to the United States, following the 11-day shutdown of 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast.
   The government of Hong Kong formed an inter-departmental group — with participants from the Security Bureau, Hong Kong Guangdong Cooperation Coordination Unit, Transport Department, Marine Department, Hong Kong Police Force, Customs and Excise Department and Lands Department — to prepare for the resumption of shipping to ports on the U.S. West Coast.
   President Bush ordered dockworkers and port operators on the U.S. West Coast to get back to work on Oct. 10 (last Wednesday), but shipping operations from Asia are still affected by delays and by the backlog of cargo and ships stranded near U.S. ports.
   “According to the industry, it will take at least two weeks before ships delayed in the West Coast come back to Hong Kong with empty containers,” the Economic Development and Labor Bureau Government Secretariat said.
   The secretariat said that the Hong Kong government is in close contact with the industry to assess the latest situation regarding several operational aspects. These are: the storage of boxes at Hong Kong container terminals, the estimated volume of cargo delayed, the timing and phasing of the resumption of sailing to the West Coast, the availability and flow of empty containers, and the transportation of laden trucks to Hong Kong.