/Agencia ABI
International carriers, importers and customs agencies will not pay fines for container demurrage. This is within the framework of a ministerial resolution in response to the more than 50 days of blockades recorded in Bolivia, which is supported by Supreme Decrees No. 26910 and No. 29819.
The measure was managed by the Ministry of Public Works, Services and Housing, through Minister Mauricio Zamora, as a response to the demands of the international cargo transport sector.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Hugo Criales, reported that the decision responds to an instruction from President Rodrigo Paz and was coordinated with the Ministries of Economy, Foreign Affairs, Defense, the National Customs Office and the Administration of Port Services of Bolivia (ASP-B).
“We have worked with the Ministry of Economy, the Foreign Ministry, the National Customs Office, the Ministry of Defense and the ASP-B. The resolution that will allow carriers not to make payments to shipping companies, either for freight deposit concepts, is ready,” explained the authority.
Criales pointed out that the regulation is already finalized and only awaits the signature of three ministries for its entry into force, constituting a concrete response from the national government to the effects generated by the blockades.
“The decrees specify that, due to fortuitous event and force majeure, no charge should be made, and we are reinforcing those regulations with this resolution so that the issue of demurrage is not charged,” added the deputy minister.
Bolivia is experiencing more than 50 days of protests and massive road blockades initially led by the Bolivian Workers’ Central (COB) and the Federation of Peasants, which were later joined by sectors allied with former President Evo Morales.
The crisis generated a severe shortage of food, fuel and medicinal oxygen in several cities, losses of billions of dollars and more than fifteen deaths.
Given the severity of the logistical collapse, President Rodrigo Paz decreed a constitutional State of Exception with the aim of intervening and forcibly unblocking the country’s main highways.
As a result of this scenario, the ports located in northern Chile are suffering problems of cargo congestion, which have been forced to deploy contingency measures to face the complications arising from the conflict.
