WEBLOG: Roads, Transport, Ports

Content

This weblog is a chronological list of entries pertaining to ROADS, TRANSPORT, and PORTS that have appeared in the AIR & LOGISTICS COORDINATION BULLETIN, a daily information service published by UNJLC covering air operations and other logistics in the crisis region affected by the INDIAN OCEAN TSUNAMI of December 26, 2004.

For the full archive of Bulletins go here.

11th MAY, 2005

LAND

• UNJCL BANDA ACEH is reviewing road transport cost and availability in Aceh in liaison with IoM, and will make a visit to MEDAN to review road haulage and to make plans to assess the availability of road haulage in the main commercial areas of SUMATRA: all part of the UNJLC's contingency planning.
• The improvements to the coastal road, BANDA ACEH - Meulaboh has resulted in greater reliability in road transportation of relief and reconstruction supplies and less dependence on air transportation. Nevertheless, the journey by road still takes 8 to 9 hours for relief trucks and, due to current weather conditions, sections of the road are washed out and bridges fail.   The TNI is responding quickly and effecting repairs.
• Reportedly, the US have signed a US$245m agreement to build a road in West Coast Aceh running from BANDA ACEH to Meulaboh (240km), which will include 113 bridges and culvert crossings.
• Public transportation is available from BANDA ACEH to towns in west coast Aceh (by Mitsubishi minibus L-300). The L-300 fleet is still using alternate route Gempang - Tutut which is still under security restrictions for UN staff: not an approved route.
• Atlas Logistique, has a truck fleet (10 trucks of various size) ready for transportation in Calang and in Meulaboh, .
• IOM has approximately 50 trucks (various) operating in NIAS.
• From 1-6 May, IOM dispatched 6 convoys of humanitarian relief: Rice, Food, Sugar, Water, and Medicine (on behalf of different NGOs and the local government).

Food dispatch from MEDAN by road to IDPs:

SEA

WFP T/C vessels movement:

• L/C Labitra Reulina which had ferried between SIBOLGA and NIAS is now based in NIAS, after WFP office in SIBOLGA closed on 3 May 2005. Stands by for lightering M/V Multi Sarana
• LCT LABITRA HANNY now discharging in  Calang (Rice 200MTs, Oil 25 MT, Fish 50 MT, Noodles 40 MT and 1 land rover), 10 May.
• LCT TRANSINDO 1 started loading on 9 May in MALAHAYATI bound for Calang
• M/V Multi Sarana sailed from Belawan -North SUMATRA to MALAHAYATI with Vegetable oil 473MTs, Biscuits 103MTs, Fish 178MTs and to GUNUNG SITOLI -NIAS with Rice 800 Mt, and Fish 124 MT.

21th APRIL, 2005

INDONESIA

LAND

• UNJLC Road Assessment Team (with Atlas Logistique) returned from MEULABOH on 15 April 2005. Maps of updated road conditions for Aceh, the North Sumatra logistics map and Aceh Province map will be ready for distribution by 19 April 2005.  The road assessment in brief includes:
• BANDA ACEH-MEULABOH is accessible by 4x4 vehicle and up to 10 ton truck.
• At KRUENG PULUT, the road is too close to the sea, likely to flood in high / king tides.
• At GLEE BRUK, the road is muddy for approximately 1 km and passage is difficult when wet. TNI are grading this road which includes land filled and levelling.
• At DESA PASI, the road is poor and waterlogged, but is still passable.
• At LAMNO, vehicles have to take a pontoon to cross the river. The pontoon service is run by TNI and operates everyday from 0700 to 1800hrs. Maximum capacity 23 MT.
• In DESA SINUEBOK TEUNGOH, the new road that passes through the forest is difficult to traverse especially in wet weather. TNI are grading on this road and will maintain it until June 2005. After June, a private company, PT Waskita Karya will take over the road grading and maintenance.
• At PAYA EMPEUK, Kecamatan Arogan, the road was covered by 1m river water: the section is dangerous when the river is high or rains are heavy.
• In COT MURONG, there is a damaged timber bridge which is difficult to pass in rainy weather.
• Approximate time by 4WD:
• BANDA ACEH-Lamno 4 hours.
• LAMNO-CALANG 3-4 hours
• CALANG-MEULABOH 5 hours
• There are two (2) by-passes along the route BANDA ACEH - MEULABOH (as reported by TNI last week):
• LHO'NGA-LEUPUNG 5 km
• LHO KRUET 5 km
• UNJLC GIS Team are now creating a new detailed Logistics Atlas of this West ACEH route. Complete results will be at www.unjlc.org this week. UNJLC BANDA ACEH has three maps of NIAS Island; NIAS North, NIAS South and NIAS Island Logistics overview. NIAS Island Logistic overview will be available on from 19 April 2005, at www.unjlc.org.
• On April 18 2005, an NGO sent one vehicle (Mitsubishi double cabin) through the alternate route to MEULABOH, via GEUMPANG-TUTUT. Travel time 08HRS. Route is popular with the drivers of MITSUBISHI mini vans that transport local passengers.
• UNJLC is considering conducting road assessment on this alternate route.
• IMC convoy consisting of 17 vehicles from MEDAN are expected to arrive in BANDA ACEH by 20 April.
• The complete IOM Wanadri (off-road vehicles association) NIAS rapid road assessment is available at: http://humanitarianinfo.org/sumatra/280305earthquake/assessments/IOMNiasAssessment.pdf  In brief:
• GUNUNG SITOLI to IDANO MUZOI is accessible with car. (East Coast)
• Temporary bridge is being installed in Idano Muzoi
• Roads from GUNUNG SITOLI to SIROMBU, TELUK DALAM and TUHUMBERUA
  -open for 5 MT truck. (The overland central route GUNUNG SITOLI -TELUK DALAM is not passable.
• LAHEWA to SIROMBU - very poor. (NW Coast)
• TELUK DALAM - SIROMBU is impassable. (SW Coast)
• The current overland truck routes served by IOM trucks (available for humanitarian community) are:
   - BANDA ACEH
   - MEULABOH
   - LHOKSEUMAWE - BIREUN - SIGLI
   - SIBOLGA - NIAS
   - SINGKIL - SIMEULUE
   - SAMOSIR
  (IOM has carried more than 23,755MT total cargo for over 100 organisations.)
• IOM also are operating daily road convoys -SIBOLGA-NIAS, call Marc Petzoldt mobile phone: 0811895712. 
• IOM now have 39 trucks in NIAS and NIAS SELATAN Districts, and are increasing this number as the road network is reopened to support the distribution of relief items.  20 additional light trucks are being readied for deployment to Nias to assist with intra island distribution.
• IOM is considering serving BANDA ACEH-CALANG route.
• National company 'Pertamina' supplies fuel to NIAS (gasoline, diesel & kerosene).

SEA

• See the Bottlenecks section in CRITICAL ISSUES above.
• A WFP assessment of the port of SIBOLGA confirmed its suitability for the loading of landing crafts. This will alleviate the constraints of limited space on the commercial ferry, and allow for the transport of food and other humanitarian cargo to NIAS.
• WFP has chartered a 1,000MT landing craft, for NIAS operations.
• The port authorities in SIBOLGA grant priority access to government ferries for the WFP commodities. A rub hall, which will be erected shortly, will be used to store WFP food in transit through SIBOLGA to NIAS.
• As of April 15, a total of 328 MT of food (300 MT of rice and 58 MT of vegetable oil) has been dispatched from MEDAN to SIBOLGA for onward shipment to NIAS.
• Ferries from SIBOLGA to NIAS depart at 2000hrs local from SIBOLGA and arrive the next morning at 0600hrs.  Cost of a ticket for a truck is 570,00Rp.
• A number of NGOs are now using private local shipping in-and-around NIAS / SIMEULUE.
• IOM has purchased a 10-ton capacity boat which set sail for Gunung Sitoli with 2,000 litres of diesel on Sunday, 17 April. This dedicated full-time service will provide access to difficult-to-reach areas of NIAS, BANYAK and SIMEULUE. IOM has expressed its gratitude to the Australian government through whose generosity this purchase was funded. 
• In BANDA ACEH:  
• Cargo Ship 'BBC Argentine' arrived in MALAHAYATI Port 16 April 2005. Carrying 3 unpacked parts for a steel road bridge as well as 2500MT of containerised equipment / goods.
• KMP Kuala Batee II left MALAHAYATI Port at 1200 midnight 15 April 2005. Destination SIMEULUE Island. Carrying 42 pax, 4 units' motorcycles, 2 units' car, tents, blankets, food items and books from UNICEF.

SRI LANKA

TRANSPORT

From 1 January  to 31 March 2005, IOM has steadily increased its fleet from 15 trucks (at the beginning of the crisis) to 72 trucks to date.  The below graph shows the expansion of the IOM fleet to meet the increased need for transport of relief items in Sri Lanka following the tsunami.

13th APRIL, 2005

INDONESIA

LAND

• The Medan - Meulaboh road is now open for trucks up to 20 Tons.
• Banda Aceh - Meulaboh road route conditions:
• In Babah Awe, about 2 km before Calang, the road condition is poor.
• 2 Km before Teunom the road is difficult to get through when it's rainy.
• 7 Km before Meulaboh, the road is difficult to get through when it's rainy.
• A Joint team consisting of UNJLC, IOM and Atlas Logistique are conducting road assessment and mapping work from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh.  New GPS data is being collected on this route to account or the shift in land mass (earthquake 26 December) and the re-routing of the road caused by the tsunami's wave damage. (NB: There are two major bypasses along the road from Banda Aceh to Meulaboh, at Lho'nga-Leupung 5 km and at Lho kruet 5 km. )
• Approximate time by 4WD car:
• Banda Aceh-Lamno, 3-4 hours.
• Lamno-Calang, 3-4 hours
• Calang-Meulaboh, 6 hours
• Road assessments in Nias have been conducted by IOM, TNI, UNDAC, Wanadri (off road vehicle owner's association) and UNJLC: these are available to any humanitarian community. Other rapid assessments on road/bridge conditions by agencies in the field: information from these teams is to be given to HIC in order to update maps.
• GIS staff from UNJLC-Banda Aceh deployed to Nias to assist in Maps update
• On April 10, UNJLC staff (2 GIS officers and 2 National staffs) travelled to South of Nias in a minibus.
• General condition of the road: poor, a lots of fissures, narrow, sometimes are very steep and a lot of turns.
• Hiligodu (12 km from Gunung Sitoli), road damaged, passable with small car.
• Padoro Hunogo, damged, very difficult to get through.
• Tegi Deu bridge, cracked, passable with 4x4 vehicle
• Gunung Sitoli - Sirombu : 45 Km,  5-6 hours by minibus.
• The road network to the south of the island, Teluk Dalam is now useable for cars and light trucks.
• Separately, IOM reported that, to date, its fleet of trucks have carried 22,952MT of relief aid.
• In Nias, IOM has made available a fleet of 30 vehicles for humanitarian community's relief efforts.  A further 20 light trucks are being sourced from Medan to boost the distribution fleet in Nias.
• Agencies wanting to coordinate with IOM for road transport need to contact IOM 48 hrs prior to requirement.
• Assessment along west coast is required.  OCHA Medan are deploying an interagency assessment team to Singkil on Sunday, 10 April 05.
• Road between Gunung Sitoli and Lahewa, 15 km are passable and 62 km are damaged. There are 5 broken bridges along the way: Afia, Muzoi, Totoi, Lafao and Tefau Bridge.
• Alternative route between Gunung Sitoli and Lahewa are via sea by boat.  Land route can only be passed by motorbike.
• From Gunung Sitoli to Teluk Dalam, only 21 km are passable and the remaining 87 km are damaged, and there are 5 broken bridges: Gido sitie, Gido sebua, Laori, Siniri and Idano Gawo Bridge.
• Heavy equipment (dump truck, excavator, bulldozer) providers in Nias: PT Tulung Agung, PT WIS,  Medan, PT Adhi Karya, Medan Public Work (PU Medan).
• Heavy equipment providers in Sibolga:  PT Waskita Karya, Dalahewa and CV Moro'o.
• Concern Indonesia has done an assessment on Bridge condition and coordinates position throughout Simeulue Island. 
• UNLC GIS Specialist is now working on the data provided by Concern map bridge conditions.
• In Simueleu, a member of the UNDAC team is carrying out a GPS mapping of road and bridge damage along the west coast of the island.  This information will be shared with the relevant partners, including TNI to assist them in their ongoing repair operations. TNI are currently concentrating on Sinabang and are reported to be making good progress with debris clearing and cleaning.  In many areas outside Sinabang local people are carrying out emergency road repairs; however, these roads are not yet suitable for vehicles.
• AusAID civil engineers have arrived to conduct assessments for a period of 2 weeks throughout the island, making use of the existing assessments available.

SRI LANKA

TRANSPORT,/ TRUCKING CAPACITY

• IOM currently has a fleet of 72 lorries available.
• There seems to be a sufficient commercial trucking capacity in the country and no shortage is expected in the foreseeable future.
• Assessment of material transportation rates, labour rates, vehicle hire rates and construction materials rates in most of the tsunami affected districts are available at the following page of the UNJLC website: http://www.unjlc.org/content/index.phtml/itemId/29988

6th APRIL, 2005

INDONESIA

LAND

• The L-300 is the only kind of public transportation company that still goes to Meulaboh from Banda Aceh after 28 March earthquake. This Mitsubishi van vehicle type uses alternative route via Sigli- Beureunun- Tangse- Geumpang-Tutut to reach Meulaboh.  The condition of the road is narrow, in poor condition.  One section of the road is not asphalted (Geumpang to Tutut) and is only traversable by vehicles of less than 5MT. 
• NB: It should be noted that between Geumpang and Meulaboh there are 5 TNI posts.
• One more UNJLC logistics' staff for land transport/vehicles has been deployed to Nias for one week.  UNJLC staff deployed to Nias - TOTAL:  5
• IOM's land convoys are touted as a common service for land routes.  Not only for the Earthquake response needs of humanitarian community but also for the humanitarian community's cargo movement requirements for the recovery and reconstruction needs for the post-26 December Tsunami affected areas.
• IOM is doing an outstanding job of supporting and coordinating all land transport from Medan to Sibolga as well as its continuing convoys to Lhokseumawe, Banda Aceh, Pidie and Bireuen.
• As of 5 April 2005, the road from Medan to Meulaboh is now open for trucks up to 20 Tons.

SEA

• In Banda Aceh on Tuesday 5th the UNJLC Interagency Logs focused on NGO/IO needs and the UNJLC website Humanitarian actors are encouraged to tell JLC what are their regular logs, planning, cargo or their projection for the next 3 months.
• Discussion ensued regarding setup of joint transportation for cargo.
• For example, as has been the case in Nias and Simeulue, UNJLC could arrange to get one big vessel to carry cargo from all NGOs.  Those interested in participating are welcome to JLC to discuss further.  Contact: Mike Whiting  0811987365
• Atlas Logistique have carried a 7-ton vehicle via fishing boat to Calang. 
• Other NGOs who are intending to carry their vehicles to Calang can use this service. They also have rental car service in Calang.
• It is also possible move cargo/vehicles to Meulaboh also, if there is a feasible location to offload the car.  Contact: 
• Atlas Logistique expects to set up a regular route Banda Aceh- Simeulue Island within weeks.
• In Banda Aceh, the loading & off-loading rates (turn around time) in Port Malahayati has reached a new record: 483 MT of cargo (warehouse to vessel), 183MT was the previous record handling total. 
• In Simeulue Island there is a new beach area that was designed for a fuel terminal, but has yet to be used and it would reported serve as an ideal place for a logs base.  An LCT could land and there is room for a rub hall (maybe two).  The team will speak with local authorities tomorrow to see if they can get permission to use this area. Exact location of the beach is not yet confirmed.
• WFP's M/V Kimtrans is in Lhokseumawe discharging 1,800 MT of rice and the balance of 201 MT of canned fish. This will be completed by 5 April and the vessel returned to the owners in Singapore.
• L/C Labitra Reulina with 300 MT of mixed food commodities and a rubbhall reached Gunung Sitoli on 1 April. The commodities were offloaded in Gunung Sitoli and Teluk Dalam, in a southern town of Nias. The balance of load will be carried to Simuelue.
• Landing craft Sukses 3 is now in Meulaboh, loading some 350 MT of mixed food commodities for Lahewa, a northern coastal town on Nias. Non food items including 1 pick-up truck, 35 rolls of plastic sheets and 15 rolls of blankets will also be loaded.
• M/V Multi Sarana is currently offloading in Malahayati, Aceh Besar. Further transport of food to Nias and Simuelue will be coordinated from Banda Aceh.

SRI LANKA

PORT STATUS

• The Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) has granted UNHCR a demurrage waiver for its consignments stored at the port. Earlier UNICEF and World Vision had acquired a waiver. A general policy on the basis of which a decision to grant demurrage is made is not in place.
• Approximately 280 containers of cargo are yet to be cleared from the Colombo port at the moment. Out of those 30 belong to UN agencies, 12 to I/NGOs and the rest to the Government.

TRANSPORT TRUCKING

• Three trucks with water tanks belonging to World Vision arrived at the BIA on 5 April. This brings the total of WV trucks equipped with water tanks in the country to twelve.
• UNHCR trucks transporting commodities for WHO have faced some hurdles in crossing districts in the northeast due to the lack of clearance from the MoD for the transportation of specific commodities like generators, cement and other building material. UNJLC is looking into the process through which a clearance from the Ministry is acquired. A list of items requiring clearance from the MoD needs to be obtained.
• A comprehensive transport assessment carried out by UNJLC is available to agencies in hard copies upon request.

MARCH WEBLOG ARCHIVES

FEBRUARY WEBLOG ARCHIVES

JANUARY WEBLOG ARCHIVES

RELATED WEBLOGS

See also UNJLC's other Indian Ocean Crisis weblogs:

• WEBLOG - General Notices
• WEBLOG - Air Operations
• WEBLOG - Indonesia
• WEBLOG - Sri Lanka
• WEBLOG - Maldives

 ABOUT UNJLC

• UNJLC is an inter-agency facility whose mandate is to coordinate and optimize the logistics capabilities of humanitarian organizations in large-scale emergencies.
• UNJLC operates under the custodianship of WFP who is responsible for the administrative and financial management of the Centre.
• UNJLC is funded from voluntary contributions channeled through WFP.
• www.unjlc.org