Jacksonville Coast Guard inspections policy under fire

Jacksonville Coast Guard inspections policy under fire A new policy calling for an end to nighttime vessel inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard at the Port of Jacksonville is ruffling feathers and potentially adding six-figure costs for some port users, according to a report in Jacksonville's Florida Times Union.
   The local Coast Guard sector shifted to a policy of daytime-only inspection in the last month, meaning that vessels arriving at night have to sit at anchor until daylight hours. The story cited the consequences for a NYK Lines car carrier, which incurred $10,000 in labor costs while longshoremen waited for the Coast Guard to finish a morning inspection. Company officials said the delay could lead to upwards of $100,000 in total costs if the Japan-based carrier misses a reservation to pass through the Panama Canal, and then subsequent delays led to missed berthing appointments and related labor costs at other ports of call.
   'That six-hour delay could turn into a six-day delay,' Finn Roden, area operations manager for the NYK car carrier operations, told the newspaper.
   The daytime-only inspection policy is creating protests from the shipping community in Jacksonville because the policy was set at the local level. Coast Guard officials at Savannah, Ga. and Miami, key ports on either side of Jacksonville, said they conduct mandatory nighttime vessel inspections.