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Kingston Wharves thanks Customs

Published:Tuesday | March 15, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Kingston Wharves Limited's (KWL) CEO Grantley Stephenson (right) presents Laverene Simons, Jamaica Customs branch manager, Berth 6 (centre), with an appreciation award while Danville Walker, commissioner of customs, shares in the moment. The occasion marked a special appreciation luncheon hosted by Kingston Wharves to acknowledge the overwhelming support and cooperation received from the Jamaica Customs Department during the busy Christmas period last year. The intimate luncheon was held at the KWL conference facilities located at the Kingport Building. - Contributed

Kingston Wharves Limited (KWL), in expressing its gratitude to the Jamaica Customs Department for its cooperation over the Christmas season, honoured members of the department who played a vital role in improving the clearance of cargo for customers.

In an intimate luncheon, the first of its kind, held at the KWL conference facilities, Terry Hart, Jamaica Customs branch manager, KWL; and Laverene Simons, Jamaica Customs branch manager, Berth 6; were specially acknowledged for their distinct leadership. Hart was represented at the luncheon by Cheryll Falconer, Customs officer - KWL Berth 7.

In anticipation of the busy 2010 Christmas season, KWL, through a working partnership between the Jamaica Customs Department and other agencies, implemented a number of measures to improve service and efficiency for clearance of cargo.

Special initiatives

Among them was the well-received 'Opening on Saturdays' initiative. This provided customers with more time to clear their personal effects cargo over the extremely busy period. Other initiatives taken included the stripping of containers at nights, which allowed cargo to be ready for clearance during normal day-time business hours. Improvements were also made to the information-technology systems at KWL and a number of changes to the customs processes were instituted, including merging the issuing of the customs-release documents with the Customs cashier functions.

KWL, with the support of Customs, also launched an extensive public-education campaign which helped to inform customers and the general public of existing and new steps as well as useful tips for cargo clearance.

Due to these combined measures, customers experienced the benefits of the new processes. In December 2010, KWL processed 30 per cent more cargo than the previous period.

Grantley Stephenson, chief executive officer of KWL, in addressing the audience, said, "The advancement made in Christmas 2010 was the result of an exceptional partnership between KWL and Jamaica Customs."

"We recognise that there are additional areas to be improved and we are already reviewing our systems. However, we must take the time to specially salute those who were at the heart of the Christmas 2010 effort, including Terry Hart and his team stationed here at KWL and, of course, the KWL project team that spearheaded the implementation of the initiatives," added Stephenson.