TRIESTE – «The recent note signed by the Head of Department of the MIT, Dr. Riazzola, on the application of grace periods and related compensations guaranteeing continuity of road haulage services clarifies unequivocally that the 90 minutes of grace apply only to waiting times and do not include the actual time spent loading or unloading goods, as requested and indicated by Assiterminal during discussions with the Ministry.»
These are the words of Tomaso Cognolato, president of Assiterminal, commenting on the circular with which the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport clarified the application of Article 6-bis of Legislative Decree 286/2005, introduced by the Infrastructure Decree, on waiting times for loading and unloading goods.
«In recent months, on this issue, some organisations representing the road haulage sector had given their members different instructions, creating confusion and potential disputes, while a large part of the logistics cluster aimed to focus on improving supply-chain efficiency and the relationship between client and carrier, avoiding unnecessary conflict,» reads a note from Assiterminal.
«The emphasis on the transport contract, as recalled by Legislative Decree 286/2005 — from which terminal operators and port companies are excluded —» specifies Assiterminal’s Director, Alessandro Ferrari, «is an additional element of clarity. It could be useful for the Conference of ADSP Presidents to consider some form of national programme agreement aimed at improving, also through uniform PCS digitalisation, the efficiency of import–export flows passing through ports, thus enhancing ongoing digitalisation processes and dialogue with operators, primarily terminal operators, but also with the Customs Agency».
According to Ferrari, some issues remain unresolved, such as the fact that the maritime carrier is never considered part of the logistics chain, even when it discharges tens of thousands of containers ashore; the issue of the right of recourse; and the relationship between “port congestion fees” and the regulation of waiting times, as referenced in the Infrastructure Decree.
