Shippers are calling for intervention from senior Transnet management to address the ongoing congestion at the Port of Cape Town.
Berthing delays are estimated to be around five days, according to the Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLF) deputy chairman Terry Gale.
“The congestion is on the sea and landside,” he said.
A transporter told FTW it was not uncommon for trucks to wait anything from ten to 13 hours to get into the port gate.
“It’s a huge problem. There are no facilities for truck drivers waiting in that queue. Where do they eat, where do they relieve themselves? What is worrying is that there is no move towards finding any kind of solution to this,” he said.
Transnet Port Terminals general manager, Velile Dube, has acknowledged the concerns saying over the past three years the container terminal in particular has experienced significant changes in weather patterns which have affected operations.
Planned maintenance for the terminal equipment, particularly the stationary equipment, had also been impacted by weather, he said. “This is due to maintenance at heights not being allowed to be conducted when there are persistently strong winds.”
It has also become a challenge to release equipment for planned maintenance when the terminal is in recovery mode. A situation that has been exacerbated by equipment breakdowns.
Various industry stakeholders told FTW they felt Cape Town was not a priority for Transnet senior management which was far too focused on Durban.
“Cape Town’s good equipment is moved to Durban and it does not matter that we are left stranded,” said one port user who preferred to remain anonymous. “It’s not just the wind patterns that have changed. This port is not a priority for Transnet.”
Dube said that equipment had been moved to Durban but said four straddle carriers had since been redeployed from Durban Container Terminal to support the wind impact mitigation strategy for the upcoming reefer peak season.
Gale said he believed the congestion in the port had to be escalated to senior management level within Transnet and called on the PLF to set up a meeting with top management of the state-owned enterprise.
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It's not uncommon for trucks to wait anything from ten to 13 hours to get in to the port gate.
