The British arm of Hutchison Whampoa's global port division has run into stiff opposition to a proposed security fee it intends to levy next month at two of the three ports it manages in Britain.
The British International Freight Association yesterday blasted Hutchison Port Holding's 'crazy' proposal to charge freight forwarders up to HK$150 per box as the world's biggest port operator tries to recover the cost of securing its facilities against potential acts of terrorism.
Colin Beaumont, the freight association's director-general, said Hutchison was taking the easy way out by proposing to charge a sector of the trade with which it had 'no contractual relationship'.
He said Hutchison should be recovering its costs from its customers - the shipping lines.
'We are not claiming the charge is unnecessary,' Mr Beaumont said. 'Our complaint is their proposal to charge someone with whom they have no contractual relationship. To send the bill to forwarders and customs clearance agents is crazy. It is the soft target.'
Hutchison's targeting of the forwarders is a first for an industry determined to recover new security costs in a post-September 11 environment, as is the level of the surcharge it is proposing.
