The yard occupancy and container dwell times at the MSC PSA European Terminal (MPET) container terminal remain at critical levels despite all measures that have been taken so far, according to the company's release. To avoid an operational stand still and maintain an efficient and reliable service, MPET has decided to implement a Yard Opening Time (YOT) scheme for all containers delivered at Q1718 and Q1742. This decision has been taken in line with the example set by other container terminals in the port of Antwerp where this measure has been implemented over the past few months.
With the above situation, MPET has been forced to implement a “7-day cargo opening rule” for export containers for all deep-sea liner services. In practice, this Yard Opening Time (YOT) starts 7 calendar days before the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of the deep-sea vessel. This means that export containers can only enter the terminals 7 days before the ship's confirmed arrival time, which is the earliest time in which an export container can be delivered.