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Bill to assess 1-time wharfage fee prefiled
Sen. Francisco Q. Cruz (R-Tinian) has prefiled a bill that will limit the wharfage fees charged by the Commonwealth Ports Authority to cargo offloaded at a port or harbor in the Commonwealth and to waive wharfage fees on cargo shipped to and from the islands within the Commonwealth.
Senate 19-01, which was prefiled last Jan. 13, wants to ensure that wharfage fees are charged one time for commodities that are off-loaded at any port or harbor under the CPA’s jurisdiction.
“The same commodities shall not be assessed wharfage a second time regardless whether the same cargo is shipped from Saipan to Rota or Tinian on a different vessel. In addition, this act provides that no wharfage fees shall be assessed on cargo shipped to and from any Commonwealth port or harbor,” reads Cruz’s bill.
The bill’s “findings” section determined that the high cost of commodities on Rota and Tinian is a great burden to the consumers and a portion of the added cost is due to the wharfage fees imposed by CPA on commodities shipped from Saipan to Rota and Tinian.
Under the bill, wharfage fees shall be limited to all cargo including liquid petroleum products shipped from outside the Commonwealth and offloaded at the Port of Saipan, Rota West Harbor, or Tinian Harbor. Provided, however, that no additional wharfage fees shall be assessed on the same cargo when shipped, regardless of the vessel, from any port or harbor under the CPA jurisdiction and subsequently shipped to its final destination at any other port or harbor in the Commonwealth.
SB 19-01 also states that no wharfage fees shall be charged on all cargo including liquid petroleum products shipped to and from Saipan, Rota West Harbor, or Tinian Harbor.
The bill for a one-time assessment of wharfage fees comes after Rota recorded the most dramatic increase in consumer price index Commonwealth-wide in the fourth quarter of 2013 as it rose from 109.9 from July to September 2013 to 110.3 from October to December 2013.
