Massive truck queues have been plaguing business to Saudi Arabia since Ramadan, prompting some local firms to consider moving across the border from Bahrain, said a senior official.

"This is leading to trucks being stranded over four days at times and perishables like milk, ice-cream and yogurt being spoilt," said Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) transport committee head Abdulhakeem Al Shammery.

Delays of up to four days are holding up shipments that should be delivered in a matter of hours and leading to some drivers simply quitting, according to transport chiefs.

They have also been blamed for a number of road accidents, since the trucks completely block the hard shoulder of the Shaikh Isa bin Salman Highway, and ruining perishable goods before they have even been delivered.

"These queues have also led to several accidents and one man even lost his life yesterday as he crashed into two parked trucks. Several more accidents are waiting to happen because hundreds of trucks parked on the roadside are a serious traffic hazard. Many drivers have also resigned in the last few days and many more have refused to travel to Saudi Arabia because of the problems."

He said importers in Saudi Arabia were crying foul, with critical shipments of aluminium and cables arriving late - potentially affecting project completion deadlines.

"This is a serious problem and needs to be addressed as soon as possible," said Al Shammery.

"It started during Ramadan when we thought it would be all right after Eid. But that has not happened and the situation has only aggravated."

He said on an average, truckers were spending two nights on the road waiting to cross the border to Saudi Arabia.

"There have been many cases, however, of some having had to spend four nights in misery with no toilet facilities and very little to eat," he added. "This is a clear violation of human rights when even the basis necessities are not being taken care of."

Though Al Shammery blamed the problem on there being too few staff on the Saudi side of the border and only then working for certain hours.

"The same volume of cargo from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain comes every day without a hiccup," he said. "This situation is unacceptable and must change. Officials from both sides of the border have to sit together and sort out the issue in the interest of businesses."

He said some Bahraini businesses had been contemplating moving to Saudi Arabia to get over the border-crossing nightmare. "This will spell disaster for Bahrain, if it happens," he warned.

A senior official at one Bahraini transport company confirmed the situation had become critical due to Saudi authorities' insistence on X-raying every vehicle as it entered the country.

"This does not happen anywhere else in the world," he said. "I can understand the security angle, but this is not the way."

An official at another transport company said his consignments of fresh food, milk, yogurt and ice-cream to Kuwait had been spoilt.

"These perishables cannot survive, so we have lost them all," he said, describing the situation as "catastrophic".

"Authorities on both sides have to try and solve it immediately," he added.

Al Wardi Transport managing director Turki Al Wardi called for a border crossing operation that worked around the clock - not closing down at night.

"We have a situation when there is possibly a staff shortage on the Saudi side; they insist on X-raying every vehicle that crosses and close down during prayers," he said. "This leads to the delays and queues keep piling on the Bahrain side."

He revealed 17 drivers had already resigned from his company and more were threatening to follow.

"How can we hold them? They have a right to refuse to work under the circumstances," he said.

Al Wardi estimated his company sends around 75 of the nearly 1,000 trucks that cross the border to Saudi Arabia ever day.

"At most, a round trip to Damman is completed in five hours but when now it can take up to four days, there is a problem," he said.

No one from the King Fahad Causeway Authority could be reached for comment yesterday (October 24). – TradeArabia News Service