Anger over loss of straddlers

The Cape Town industry is up in arms
over a Transnet decision to move four
straddle carriers to the Port of Durban
in an effort to address high congestion
at South Africa’s busiest port.
But with the windy season just
around the corner, port users are
worried about the impact this will have.
“The rubber tyre gantries don’t work
in high wind speeds,” said one user,
who preferred to remain anonymous.
“They simply are not efficient in a
windy port. The gains made at the
Cape Town port in addressing the wind
challenge was largely due to the use of
straddle carriers.”
According to the Cape Town Port
Liaison Forum (PLF) the long lead time
gives port authorities some time to come
up with a solution before the high winds
are experienced in November.
South African port authorities
have been moving port operations
towards rubber tyre gantries for some
time now but port users have always
disapproved, saying the straddlers were
a far more effective way to operate and
move containers in the South African
landscape.
“This makes the point,” said the port
user. “If the rubber tyre gantries work
so well why not use them then? Why do
they need the straddlers?”
Addressing the PLF in Cape Town, a
Transnet Port Terminal employee said
they were confident that the move would
not impact on local operations at all.
CAPTION
One of the port of Cape Town's
straddle carriers.