CT fears congestion surcharge bogey

Operating close to capacity THE CURSE of the port congestion surcharge in Durban could very soon extend down to Cape Town, according to Colin Schultz, distribution manager for SANS Fibres - one of the Cape's major exporters. "The harbour here normally handles about 30 000 containers a month," he told FTW. "But they've been operating at about 37 000 containers recently - and getting close to their 40 000 unit capacity limit." With a Durban surcharge, Schultz questions just how long it will take for a similar extra cost to be slapped on Cape Town traffic. "A lot of cargo is now moving through this harbour instead of Durban," he said, "and I feel things are going to go badly wrong very soon. "The figures at the moment indicate that Cape Town could very soon also become congested - and I don't see the shipping lines waiting any length of time before they slap on a surcharge here if that happens."