Govt Negotiating Lower Fees For Release Of Cars Stranded At Port Klang

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Transport minister Loke Siew Fook said most of the cars stranded on the cargo ship were in good condition, but needed clearance from the authorities before they could be released to avoid future legal issues.
KUALA LUMPUR: The transport ministry is negotiating a reduction in the sum payable by the owners of nearly 1,000 vehicles which were stranded in Port Klang after a cargo ship transporting them caught fire on Dec 3 last year, says transport minister Loke Siew Fook.
He said his ministry held a meeting yesterday, attended by the owners of the cargo ship, insurance companies, legal firms and other stakeholders, focused on finding a solution to resolve the issue and address requests from the car owners.
“Our priority right now is to reach a solution with the ship’s owners to release the cars.
“The sum they are asking for is quite a big burden to the car owners, so we are trying to negotiate a more reasonable sum,” Loke said at an event in Kuala Lumpur.
The vessel caught fire about nine nautical miles off Tanjung Labuh, Batu Pahat, en route to Kota Kinabalu, on Dec 3, forcing it to return to Port Klang. Some of the vehicles were damaged.
Last week, the owners of the vehicles said they were informed that they had to pay 60% of their cars’ value to the shipping company to get their cars back, irrespective of whether the cars were damaged or not by the fire.
One of them was told by a shipping agent that the cars were being held because of a clause under maritime law which stated that if a fire or damage occurred at sea, the loss must be shared between the shipowners and the car owners.
The car owners said the shipping agents had not informed them earlier of such a clause and that this had left many of them uncertain as to who should be held accountable.
Loke said most of the cars stranded on the cargo ship were in good condition, but needed clearance from the authorities before they could be released to avoid future legal issues.
“I have given the car owners my commitment that (the transport ministry) will try our best, even though this is actually between them and the ship’s owners,” he said.
Loke stressed that the ministry was merely playing the role of a mediator to resolve the issue between the car owners and the shipping company. - FMT

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