CT port prepared ahead of fruit season

The Port of Cape Town is geared up for the coming fruit season with contingency plans in place and four more straddle carriers on their way. According to a spokesman for the Cape Town Container Terminal, the port has deployed six straddles to its reefer operations and four more are expected from the Port of Durban. “We expect the four straddles to arrive in Cape Town in the next few weeks,” he said. Current high winds in Cape Town swung the decision for straddles rather than rubber-tyre gantry cranes. The spokesman said that RTGs were more wind sensitive making the straddle carriers a more solid option for the increased volumes of fruit expected to be exported through the port in the next three months. “We have also introduced new shifts to handle the increased volumes while internal forums are in place to address any challenges and to meet regularly with industry,” said the spokesman. “The strategy is also currently being communicated to various port users, industry stakeholders and organisations such as the Port Liaison Forum, the Harbour Carriers’ Association and the like.” If conditions were extremely windy, the spokesman said the port had the option of the Belcon container terminal. “In case of wind, exporters can drop boxes at Belcon and they will immediately be visible in the terminal thanks to the integration of our systems. These boxes will then be moved by rail to the port,” he said. “While this option does come with a slight additional cost it is a solution if the winds continue as we have seen in recent weeks.” High wind is a regular challenge during the Cape’s peak fruit season. The port had become one of the most adept in the country at dealing with wind, and its particular strength was its ability to recover from a shut-down, said Mike Walwyn, chairman of the Port Liaison Forum.