Dominican shipping executive calls for faster throughput

Dominican shipping executive calls for faster throughput The Dominican Republic needs to move goods through ports much faster, a shipping agency executive said, pointing to China as an

example of what can be done.    Jeffrey Rannick, from Agencia Navieras B&R, also known as Baez & Rannick, told the newspaper _Listin Diario_ that a container can be loaded or

offloaded in China in just two hours, while in the Dominican Republic it takes an average of 10 hours. More significantly, a container will stay in a Dominican port for an average of 12

days, while in China the average is two days, he said.    Rannick, who is a member of the Caribbean Shipping Association, said he and others from the shipping industry in the Dominican

Republic are working with local ports to bring the Dominican Republic up to higher international standards.    For starters, he suggested there should be fewer agencies involved in

processing shipments in the Dominican Republic. He noted there are a dozen agencies involved in cargo clearance, and said the system needs to be streamlined in order to speed up cargo

movements.