CT berthing delays down to seven hour average

‘Ample capacity throughout the season’ RAY SMUTS THE CLOSEST one can come to describing conditions at Cape Town’s container terminal these days can be summed up by one of Oscar Borchards’ favourite words: fluid. That is exactly how it has been during November, a month usually notorious for some of the worst winds of the year. The daily port report invariably lists as ‘none’ the number of berthing delays, now down to six or seven hours on average, while productivity has stabilised at around 20 moves per crane per hour. Having dismissed an assertion by Tru-Cape CEO, Charles Hughes, that the fruit industry lost R200-m in the Mother City port last year due to various shortcomings, Borchards, the terminal’s business unit manager, last week outlined a host of measures put in place to make life easier for importers and exporters. Moreover, he and his team have gone to some length to determine the exact needs of the fruit and shipping sectors. “We have had ample capacity throughout the fruit season and there were no delays other than wind. All our 2 000 reefer plug points were fully utilised.” The number of reefer plug points will be increased by 250 in January, the three-day stack has been increased to a six day facility, allowing producers more time to prepare their exports. A dedicated gate has also been created specifically for reefer boxes and a second gate set aside exclusively for removal of empty containers. The terminal usually deploys five gangs but a sixth has been created, should the need arise. Arrangements are also in place to accommodate smaller container ships at multi-purpose terminal berths, a measure not yet found necessary. “Exporters are fully utilising the six-day stack, which allows us to service them better, and there is no longer bunching of trucks,” says Borchards. Export stack occupancy, of which fruit accounts for 17%, currently stands at between 50% and 60%. This is about the same for import stack occupancy, which is apt to increase up to 80% in peak periods. The terminal expects to handle 112 000 TEUs from this month to May next year, and projects 124 000 TEUs for the next fruit season between November 2007 and June 2008, the latter figure accounting for growth of some 17.5%.