AAP, ZDnet (AU), via Slashdot, reports:

Glitches in a new customs computer system have caused a massive container backlog at NSW’s largest port and threaten to bring it to a standstill, the state government says.

NSW Ports Minister Eric Roozendaal today said Port Botany was at 90 per cent capacity and space was “rapidly diminishing”.

The federal government agency Australian Customs’ integrated customs management system has been unable to clear containers quickly enough.

The industry estimates cargo clearance rates at Port Botany and Melbourne — two of the nation’s most important ports — are down to 30 per cent of normal levels because of the system. “Almost two months before Christmas, Port Botany is almost full and delays are at critical levels for products coming into NSW busiest port,” Roozendaal said in a statement.

“There couldn’t be a worse time to introduce a new computer system.”

More than 2,000 containers are unloaded at the port daily, but it only has capacity for 20,000 at a time.

The new system replaced one that had been operating for more than 20 years and its proponents, including the federal government, claimed imports and exports would be cleared faster.

The Commonwealth has since conceded the AU$250 million system was banking up containers, but it has been under pressure from shippers and customs brokers to push ahead with the plan.

Roozendaal said more than AU$100 million of trade moved through Port Botany every day, and called on the federal government to fix the problem immediately.

“Whether we go back to the old system or prioritise the clearing of containers under the new one, it’s too serious to let the bungling continue,” Roozendaal said.

“I am advised stevedores could soon start looking for storage facilities off site but this will also fill up quickly.

“Industry will be brought to a standstill.”