Significant Reduction of Unclaimed Imported Cars at Bridgetown Port Eases Congestion with Auction Notice

In the space of a few weeks, the congestion created by unclaimed imported cars in the Bridgetown Port has eased significantly.

And all it took was a notice of an auction to have those vehicles sold to the highest bidder.

At February 10, this year, there were 469 vehicles in the Port and another 842 arrived five days later.

Chief executive officer (CEO) of the Bridgetown Port, David Jean-Marie, said nearly all previously unclaimed vehicles have now been paid for and taken by the people who imported them. He said this would eventually make for a more efficient operation at the Prescod Boulevard, Bridgetown, facility.

“The announcement of the auction motivated people to take immediate action to get their vehicles out of the Bridgetown Port,” Jean Marie told the Sunday Sun yesterday.

“It was to reduce congestion in the Port and it obviously

motivated consignees and importers of vehicles in particular to take quick action to get them out. In short time, we have seen the numbers go from more than 1 000 cars down to 300 for a while. That number has now dwindled to under 50.

“And it is still going down, as people are coming for their vehicles every day. We expect people to come for their vehicles until the day of the auction.

The CEO noted that it was not only delinquent car dealers who were not claiming the vehicles which led to the congestion, but also the average citizen bringing in cars and not clearing them.

“The aim is always to have a smooth transition. We always want people that import cars to take their possessions out of the Port.”

Jean-Marie also explained that there was an unusual situation that led to some of the congestion at the facility, starting in 2024.

“There was a back-up of cars in Jamaica and that shipment eventually came to the Bridgetown Port with more than 600 cars at one time. We had that happening and cars don’t come in tens or 50s. Vehicle carriers can bring cars in the hundreds at times. So the numbers will spike at times, which can lead to congestion as well,” said Jean-Marie.

According to the Bridgetown Port’s website, just 26 unclaimed vehicles are now left to be auctioned on Wednesday at Shed 4 of the facility.

Under the hammer

In addition, he said five vehicles owned by the Bridgetown Port would also come under the hammer.

In February, it was revealed during a press conference by Jean-Marie and Comptroller of Customs Owen Holder that the Bridgetown Port

was dealing with a significant level of congestion, as more than 400 imported vehicles were at the facility waiting to be paid for and cleared.

The CEO said the congestion led to containers having to be stacked three and four rows high to use the little space available. He added that some unclaimed vehicles had been there for more than a year and many for more than three months since landing in Barbados.

The congestion also led to increased times spent by truckers and freighters trying to clear items from the Port, usually double the 35 minutes set out for the average transaction.

In addition, the Port started publishing several newspaper advertisements advising Barbadians of its intent to sell vehicles which were left unclaimed for at least 30 days, along with the process involved in appealing such sales.

Of the ten cases filed under the Appeals Mechanism, some vehicles were withdrawn from auction, some delivered to consignees and some are under review. (BA)