Kudoo seeks to summon MPL officials over new North Harbor regs posing difficulties to vessels

A request has been filed to summon senior officials from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) to the Parliament amid growing concerns over the company’s new commercial harbor queuing policy, which has reportedly created major challenges for vessels transporting goods to islands across the Maldives.

In a letter addressed to Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla, North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo) raised concerns that the revised procedures introduced by MPL at the Male’ North Harbor have significantly disrupted the operations of cargo vessels.

According to Kudoo, the current system requires vessels to obtain a queue number before waiting between 10 and 15 days for permission to dock. As a result, boats that previously completed two to three trips each month are now limited to a single trip. He added that the prolonged waiting period has led to substantial financial losses for vessel owners while disrupting the timely delivery of essential goods to the islands.

Kudoo also outlined additional concerns raised by vessel operators, stating that the ongoing Male' Ring Road development project has reduced the amount of available docking space. Operators further complained that despite paying considerable fees to use certain harbor zones, they continue to lack access to essential services such as water and electricity. He stressed that vessels serving islands close to Male' have been particularly affected, as the reduced number of trips has made it financially unviable to meet operational expenses, including fuel costs and employee salaries.

In response to these issues, Kudoo requested the Parliament to summon MPL’s senior management to provide explanations and work toward an immediate solution.

MPL announced the revised vessel docking policy for the North Harbor on March 11, with the new system taking effect on March 14. Under the policy, cargo and passenger vessels are entered into the queue only after departing from their previous destination and completing the required payments for use of the North Harbor quay wall.

The policy states that once the North Harbor office contacts a vessel to inform it of an available docking slot based on its position in the queue, the vessel must arrive and dock within two hours. Failure to do so, or an inability to contact the operator by phone, will result in the vessel being placed on temporary "hold" status in the A-Zone and C-Zone queues, allowing MPL to offer the available slot to the next vessel in line.

MPL further explained that vessels placed on hold will only be returned to the queue after entering the Male’ area and formally requesting to be "unheld" through the North Harbor office. The company emphasized that submitting this request is the responsibility of the vessel operator.

Additionally, once a vessel has been restored to the A-Zone or C-Zone queue, it will become eligible for a docking slot only after a further two-hour waiting period. If the vessel again fails to dock or respond when contacted, the allocated slot will be deferred. The policy allows for a maximum of three such postponements, after which the vessel’s position in the queue will be canceled.