Barbados implements security fees on containers

Barbados implements security fees on containers The Port of Bridgetown, Barbados, faced with rising costs for improved security, has assessed a new port security fee on containers.
   The new fee for incoming shipments is $82.31 on 20-foot containers and $164.63 on 40-foot containers. There is also a new $10 customs processing fee, according to a report in The Daily Nation newspaper in Bridgetown.
   Barbados Ports Inc., which operates the port, sent a letter to the Barbados Shipping Association explaining the new fees, which took effect July 9. The fees aim to help cover the costs of security improvements needed to meet the standards of the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) code, the internationally recognized standard for port and vessel security.
   The report quoted Glyne St Hill, president of the Shipping Association of Barbados, as explaining that because Barbados conducts most of its trade with the United States, the port needs to meet ISPS standards.
   Although the fees are for inbound shipments, standards are critical for export shipments, as well. The U.S. Coast Guard will not allow inbound shipments from any Caribbean nation that is not meeting the ISPS code.