The demonstration and blockade of the port of Manzanillo by customs employees has begun to affect the operations of the port terminals .
SSA Marine Mexico announced in a statement to its clients that it has suspended appointment scheduling “until we have a clearer picture of the situation. We ask for your support in not generating appointment requests on our portal until further notice.”
Customs officials have closed all access points to the port since the afternoon of May 14, in protest of alleged poor working conditions since the arrival of Captain Rodolfo Torres Chávez as head of the Manzanillo customs office.
On May 12, customs workers, mostly civilians, carried out a nine-hour initial closure, but it ended after negotiations with authorities. Apparently, during this new demonstration and closure, there has been no contact between the authorities and the complainants.
“As a support to our customers, the Specialized Container Terminal (SSA) and the Multipurpose Terminal (OCUPA) will not be charging for missed appointments or changes to those facilities today (May 15),” SSA Marine Mexico said in its statement.
For its part, Contecon Manzanillo , also the operator of a specialized container terminal, urged transport users not to send export or import units until further notice, in order to avoid further logistical disruptions.
“We are coordinating with Asipona Manzanillo to mitigate the impact,” the company said in its statement to customers, also stating that vessel service continues as normal.
During the first four months of this year, the Port of Manzanillo handled a total of 1,291,721 20-foot containers (TEU) , a 1.5% increase over the same period last year. Contecon Manzanillo and SSA are the main container terminal operators at this maritime hub .
In terms of tax collection, the Manzanillo customs office is the second most active in the country , behind only the Nuevo Laredo customs office, Mexico’s most important border crossing with the United States.
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