Importers are being given 90 days to pay fees incurred by leaving imported goods on Hamilton docks for too long - or face the consequences, Corporation of Hamilton secretary Roger Sherratt warned yesterday.

"We've been having a problem with the collection of dock storage charges," he said. In January of the Corporation was owed $500,000 in unpaid dock storage charges, the majority from a small group of companies leaving their goods on the docks for more than 90 days.

Mr. Sherratt explained that importers were given five working days of "free time" to collect goods from the docks once they arrived after which they had to pay a charge. Traditionally, he added, importers could collect their goods without having to pay the charge immediately in an effort to free up dock space and prevent congestion.

With goods and dock charges piling up, however, the Corporation is having to change that policy. "We are telling all importers that if they don't pay their bills within 90 days any further charges will have to be paid on items on the docks before they leave the docks," said Mr. Sherratt.

Adding that companies with a bad track record have been individually told of the new policy, Mr. Sherratt said the Corporation thought it advisable to warn all importers of the new policy. "We are entitled to demand payment at any time," he added.

"We are looking to completely revise the whole system of dock storage charges - reducing free time in some cases, using different fee structures for paying dock storage."

In Bermuda dock storage charges are currently based on square footage, he said. Such measurements are no longer used in the shipping industry, however - instead charges are incurred based on cubic footage or weight, whichever is greater.

Such changes to the dock storage fees in Bermuda are aimed at keeping congestion to a minimum and keeping the throughput of cargo moving as quickly and efficiently as possible, said Mr. Sherratt. "We are planning to introduce them in the next few months."

On a positive note, a separate move the Corporation made in recent months in an effort to reduce dock congestion appears to be working, Mr. Sherratt added.

Several months ago the Corporation was having trouble with companies failing to pick up imported oversized trailers, he explained.

Such trailers, ranging from around 45 to 48 feet in length, are very difficult to manoeuvre around the narrow dock area and, if left for longer than the allotted five working days of free time, can cause dock congestion.

The Corporation introduced a policy whereby if a company left such a trailer on the docks for longer than the free time, that company was prohibited from importing any further trailers until the first was removed. "It's worked, generally speaking, very well indeed," said Mr. Sherratt.