Stevedoring Services Ltd. has launched a website to make it easier for people importing goods to the Island to access information on their shipments.

Mervyn Grant, IT/project manager for the company said that shipping lines and shipping agents have been beta testing www.stevedoring.bm since June and it can now provide real time online access on the status of containers or less than container load cargo to members of the public too.

?We felt the company had been living behind the times and we wanted to bring the company up to the present age by providing information at people?s fingertips,? he said, adding the system allows any consignee to query whether cargo has arrived in Bermuda, whether the container been stripped and whether it is ready to be collected.

?It is a bit easier because the information is at their fingertips. We are just trying to be responsive to our customer base by having our website out there with the information,? he said, adding that some shipping lines and agents have already praised the system since it means they no longer have to come down to the docks to check on the status of shipments.

The website also offers a history of the company, company financials and policies, contact information plus answers to frequently asked questions such as ?how do I pick up cargo?.

It also features a demurrage calculator so shippers can calculate approximately how much the Corporation of Hamilton will charge them if they leave goods on dock after the five-day grace period.

This is the second part of the company?s bid to improve its service technologically. It recently introduced a new dock reporting database system to improve operations.

Stevedoring Services recently reported record net income for the year ended March 31, 2005 of $1.2 million, a 13 percent increase over $1.1 million earned in 2004 and an 88 percent improvement over $640,700 earned in 2003.

It is poised to apply to the Corporation of Hamilton to exercise a three year renewal option on its contract once its two-year contract expires at the end of December.