New South Wales (NSW) Ports Minister Eric Roozendaal claimed Monday that Sydney"s Port Botany will grind to a halt within 24 hours as a result of teething problems with the new Integrated Cargo Shipping (ICS) system.

Roozendaal said problems related to the Australian Customs Service"s new computer system is causing a massive backlog of imports.

The system has stymied the flow of goods and exposed sensitive import data since going live on October 12.

Roozendaal said ships could be queued up off the NSW coast as early as Wednesday, waiting to unload.

Roozendaal said the cost to NSW businesses was more than A$2 million (US$1.5 million) a day, according to industry estimates.