Port stakeholders held crisis meetings at Richards Bay Port to discuss the cargo backlogs that led to massive congestion on the roads leading to the port in recent weeks.
SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) reported in its latest Cargo Movement Update that the backlogs at the port had reached “a crescendo” when hundreds of trucks congested traffic on the N2 freeway.
“Crisis meetings were called in Richards Bay this week after the situation reached a crescendo late last week, when up to 600 coal trucks piled up next to the main entrance to Richards Bay, bringing traffic to a standstill along sections of the N2,” SAAFF said in its report.
Several videos and photographs of coal truck congestion on the N2 have been circulating on social media in recent weeks, raising debates about the high demand for coal exports and the port’s efficiency.
SAAFF said the Port had recorded 24 vessels at anchor – four bulk, ten coal, six general container vessels, two bunker, and two tanker vessels on Thursday.
“In addition, there were 11 vessels on berth; five at the Dry Bulk Terminal, five at the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT), one at Richards Bay Coal Terminal, and none at the liquid bulk terminal. Two tugs, one pilot boat, and one helicopter were in operation in the 24 hours leading up to Friday,” SAAFF noted.
Meanwhile, Durban Port’s Pier 1 recorded no vessels at anchor and two at berth on Thursday. Stack occupancy was 53% for general purpose (GP) containers, with 1 346 imports on hand and 157 unassigned units.
“The terminal recorded 1 269 landside gate moves on Wednesday, with 782 slots cancelled and 77 slots wasted. In addition, on Friday, five gangs were in operation and managed to move 1 764 TEUs across the quay against a target of 1 929,” SAAFF said.
Pier 2 had four vessels at berth and one at anchor on Thursday.
“In the most recent 24 hours to Friday, stack occupancy was 44% for GP containers and 33% for reefers. The terminal operated with 11 gangs while having 2 432 imports on hand. On Friday, there were 2 798 gate moves on the landside with a truck turnaround time of 65 minutes and staging time of 72 minutes,” SAAFF noted.
“The marine fleet in Durban remained stable and continued its recovery over the past week as five tugs serviced waterside operations for the most significant part of the week. Early in the week, one tug briefly went out of commission but swiftly returned to operations.”
Durban MPT terminal recorded three vessels at berth and zero at outer anchorage on Wednesday. The MPT handled 476 containers and 334 breakbulk tonnes on the waterside. Stack occupancy for breakbulk improved but remained high at 75%, while stack occupancy on the container side was recorded at 50%.
