Several hundred car buyers in Cayman can now look forward to receiving their vehicles, following the clearing of a logjam of used vehicles in the port of Kingston, Jamaica.
“I am happy to report that the backlog has been cleared and there are currently no cars in Jamaica for Cayman,” said Acting Port Authority Director Joseph Woods, who attributed the successful clearing to a collaboration between his department, Customs and Border Control and shipping agency Seaboard Marine.
To clear the backlog, Woods said shipping agencies increased their daily outputs from 25 to 30 vehicles up to 50 vehicles.
“… [W]e are now delivering on average 40+ vehicles per day now, versus around 20 per day in March 2021,” said Woods.
The backlog was first flagged in March after Japan-based used-vehicle exporter Beforward announced it was suspending service to Cayman due to congestion at local port facilities.
A Beforward spokesperson, in a letter to partnering businesses, confirmed service to the Cayman Islands was suspended for April and May.
“It is due to cargo congestion at [George Town] port in [the] Cayman Islands, because of undelivered vehicles at the port. Cargoes on the way to [Cayman Islands] will be delivered once the situation has been resolved,” the letter read.
Initially, that backlog was said to have been caused by a combination of vehicle-importation quotas in Cayman, capacity issues for shippers and ongoing COVID-19 suppression measures in Jamaica.
Woods has since confirmed the backlog was also partially due to people not being able to clear their vehicles in a timely manner.
“Importers can order their vehicles with a down payment and they are expected to pay the balance to the broker when the vehicle arrives in Grand Cayman,” Woods said. “There have been a number of instances where the owner could not pay the balance outstanding when the vehicle arrived, so… the vehicles remained at the Port Authority compound, taking up space that could have otherwise been used to store another batch of incoming vehicles.”
Woods said as many as 60 vehicles are currently in Port Authority storage, waiting for owners to clear the outstanding balances.
With the backlog cleared, Asian-based exporters have resumed shipping vehicles. Woods is now requesting that people with cars to collect, do so before the next shipment arrives on the island.
“My appeal is for those persons who still have vehicles here to clear, to please do so expeditiously, as our aim is to be in a position to facilitate the expeditious transfer of any vehicles that arrive in Jamaica for Cayman at the end of May, beginning of June 2021,” he said.
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