By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Deputy Chief Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

SUPER Value owner Rupert Roberts yesterday confirmed that his grocery store chain has been victim to container thieves this year, saying this has not been the first time carrier freight equipment was stolen from under the control of his business.

However, it appears this trend of stolen containers from the areas surrounding the port could possibly proliferate, as Mike Maura Jr - president and chief executive officer of Arawak Port Development (APD), which owns the Nassau port, sought to downplay the seriousness of the matter.

He told The Tribune yesterday that after reaching out to two of the port’s largest carriers, he was told their losses were not significant. He added that security controls are specific to the port property and the area outside of the port is left to the police and relevant authorities for surveillance.

The surveillance of this area is a concern for truckers, they told this newspaper yesterday. One of them suggested that they are considering banding together to agree on measures they might take to safeguard themselves from further instances of theft.

On Monday, The Tribune reported that security concerns were raised about the surrounding areas of the Nassau Container Port (NCP) with claims that several containers have gone “missing,” pointing to an alleged container theft ring. Reliable sources said at least three well-known local companies and two smaller businesses have been victims and possibly face hefty fees and/or payment of between $16,000 to $25,000 to replace the missing equipment, which was last registered as leaving the port under their respective companies’ names.

However, Mr Roberts said Super Value was lucky to have recovered the stolen equipment, which was moved from an area just outside the Nassau Container Port’s gates in January and February.

“The two that went missing from my guys were found,” Mr Roberts told The Tribune yesterday. “They were parked out at the dock outside of the gate and they were moved from there. The gate was shut so the boys left them outside the gate and they disappeared.

“They not only steal the port containers, the thieves steal any containers and the wheels off of them. They steal them from us. They steal them from the warehouse. They steal them any way they can. Fortunately they were empty when this happened.

“The reality is they are going to disappear if you park it there. A lot of the people other than merchants buy the containers, people want them to park on farms and people want to live in them. They cut windows in them and live in them. But the buyers are worse than the thieves,” Mr Roberts said.

In a statement to The Tribune, Mr Maura said APD was “concerned” and “sympathetic” to this situation.

He said: “The Nassau Container Port security controls are specific to the port property. We leave the area outside of the port to the police and relevant authorities.

“APD is concerned with the recent theft of carrier freight equipment. We have reached out to the two largest carriers in an effort to better understand how big an issue this is for them and they have advised the following: One advised that they have lost ‘one’ container in the past four years. This carrier advised that they focus and manage their freight equipment each day, making sure that only authorised truckers are permitted to use their freight equipment. They believe that this level of focus and control is the reason they’ve only lost one unit in over four years.

“The other carrier advised that they are taking steps to enhance their equipment management, but that their losses have not been significant.

“Today APD was contacted by two truckers who advised that they had lost carrier equipment that was under their control. They asked APD for assistance with surveillance footage. We advised that while we are sympathetic to their dilemma, unfortunately NCP is an ISPS port facility and that we do not share our confidential security information with the public,” the statement continued.

“We do however share the information with the RBPF and have always responded to inquiries without question. Today (Monday) we put these truckers in contact with the police. I wish to mention that up to today when APD reached out to the police, APD had not been contacted for assistance on this matter.

“In earlier discussions today with a trucker, we learned that the trucker had not filed a police report at the time of the incident. This is an important matter for truckers as they are financially responsible for the containers and chassis until such time that they have entered the Nassau Container Port and received an equipment interchange receipt ‘EIR’ indicating the return of the equipment.

“Equipment that is temporarily placed in vacant lots throughout New Providence or outside the port has not been returned and the trucker is still responsible for this equipment. There is a police station at the Fish Fry and APD has contacted this station and requested that the Police increase the frequency of their patrols at night.” Mr Maura’s statement said.

The Tribune was alerted about the container theft concerns by truckers who said they parked containers in the area next to the port and returned to find the equipment missing.

One business, which was also victim to theft, was Just In Time Trucking and its owner Justin Knowles. He said his business has been adversely affected and the thefts have presented challenges.

He said despite taking precautions from theft, including placing locks on the containers left outside the port, thieves had sawed the locks off to obtain the freight carrier equipment.