ABSTRACT
As we progress through the 1990s, the role of seaports will change and the areas detailed below demonstrate such developments. Shippers are looking for dedicated schedules door-to-door with customs examination being undertaken at the consignor/consignee premises or at the nearby container freight station/dry port/freight village. Hence an increasing volume of business passing through the port will be customs examined outside the port environs thereby reducing congestion and infrastructure needs in terms of warehousing and so speeding up the transit. Moreover, it will intensify berth utilization and its infrastructure thereby increasing the throughput of the port. The elimination of customs examination will reduce substantially the size of the dock labour force, a development further accentuated by the provision of high-tech computerized cargo handling equipment.
