CT promises minimal delays over reefer peak

The Port of Cape Town has
declared itself ready for the
peak reefer season.
This follows a few
tumultuous years where
major delays at the port saw
exporters moving significant
volumes away from
containers to conventional
reefers.
But, said a port spokesman,
the port has worked hard
to address its challenges
and has pulled out all the
stops to accommodate fruit
exporters and keep delays to a
minimum.
With the deciduous fruit
season just around the corner
– usually between October
and March which is also the
time when the port is often
wind-bound, resulting in
delays – the port is reassuring
port users about its capability
for the coming season.
A spokesman for Transnet
Port Terminals (TPT) told
FTW they were continuously
looking for solutions to
ensure fruit exporters’ needs
were met.
“We are aware of their
needs and therefore
endeavour to optimise vessel
turnaround time during the
peak season from October to
March,” said the spokesman.
“We have worked hard during
the past year to put the
necessary infrastructure in
place to ensure that we are
ready.”
Measures that have been
taken include increasing the
straddle fleet to 12 units
to ensure uninterrupted
operations on landside during
wind-bound conditions. “An
equal split of these units
will be dedicated for reefers
and general cargo,” said the
spokesman. “We are also
going to ensure that the two
new ship to shore cranes are
operational before the peak
season as this will enhance
our operational capacity
significantly.”
Furthermore reach
stackers will be deployed in
RTG stacks during windbound
conditions. This has
been the case over the past
few months while the multi
purpose facility – that is
now part of the container
terminal following an
amalgamation of the bulk
and container terminals
recently – has also been
geared up to handle diverted
geared vessels.
At the same time the
national planning centre
will provide 24-hour-a-day
monitoring of reefer vessels
as they progress through
the port systems in order to
ensure vessel turnaround
time is optimised at each
port call.
According to TPT these
efforts will see delays
reduced during the coming
peak season – ultimately
proving to exporters that
the Cape Town port can
handle their fruit efficiently
and effectively, getting it to
market on time.