Container throughput at Cape Town and Eastern Cape terminals increased sharply in the week to November 1, contributing to a 20% rise in volumes handled across South Africa’s container ports.
Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) handled 18 886 TEUs, up 76% on the previous week, according to the latest Cargo Movement Update compiled by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders and distributed by Business Unity South Africa.
Ngqura Container Terminal handled 18 257 TEUs, an increase of 15%, while Port Elizabeth Container Terminal recorded the largest percentage gain with throughput rising 204% to 6 017 TEUs.
The increases helped lift national weekly container throughput to 100 423 TEUs – equivalent to an average of 14 346 TEUs a day.
CTCT handled 126% of its target volume for the week. Average time at anchorage was one hour while time at berth averaged 42 hours. The terminal operated with an average of seven of its nine cranes and 29 of its 32 rubber-tyred gantry cranes available.
In the Eastern Cape, Ngqura handled 129% of its target volume. Average anchorage time fell from 53 hours to 21 hours while vessels spent an average of 50 hours at berth. The terminal operated with a full complement of cranes and 24 of its 30 rubber-tyred gantry cranes.
Port Elizabeth handled 228% of its target volume with average anchorage and berth times of 24 hours and 39 hours respectively. An average of two of its three cranes and 10 of its 11 straddle carriers were operational.
The gains came as Durban Gateway Terminal continued to face a substantial vessel backlog despite a 12% increase in weekly throughput to 34 976 TEUs. Average anchorage time at DGT remained above 11 days.
