CT terminal vows to speed up turnaround

But vexing southeaster remains an issue, writes Ray Smuts. Ray Smuts NEW YEAR’S resolutions often amount to little more than a weak resolve, but Ian Bouwer’s remains firmly on track - 2003 will prove to be a year of change for the Cape Town container terminal as it pursues the ultimate goal of turning ships around faster and thereby keeping customers happy. As the terminal manager drove to his office amid a 40-knot south-easter recently, the farthest thing from his mind was the looming concessioning of ports. He was rather focusing on the job at hand; four vessels awaiting berths. “What we need to do this year is create value for our shareholders and if they decide whichever way (when concessioning comes) that is their prerogative.” Statistics over the past five years show the terminal has grown by an average of 4% - this year’s projection is between 2% and 4% - but it was caught off guard last year. For a variety of reasons, including large numbers of empty containers coming into Cape Town, the rate shot up to some 23%, calling for the immediate implementation of anti-congestion measures. This has since been addressed by moving the empty stack from the terminal, supplying an additional 1 000 reefer plug points at a cost of close to R1 million by the end of this month, and creating a monthly ‘think tank’ for the lines to discuss with the terminal team incoming volumes and operational issues. Furthermore, CAPEX of R2 million has been put aside for reefer extension. While the lines have generally been complimentary about an improvement in service levels in the container terminal, one extreme factor lies beyond the realm of human decision-making; those vexing south-easterly winds which have blown at their hostile worst this year and will continue in the same destructive vein until the end of March. For the five days up to Tuesday (January 7) wind caused delays of 56,5 hours and an average delay of 35 hours for five vessels. In addition, several ships including the Dal Kalahari decided to ‘cut and run’. “Every second year we just seem to hit a bad patch, but we’re now back to normal and last night we worked away four vessels despite the wind so we are able to quickly turn the situation into a positive.” As for the berthing slot system which made its debut toward the end of last year in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, albeit it on a trial basis, Bouwer says it has now been extended indefinitely. “The system is working very well and that is definitely the way to go in future.” As to whether four container berths are sufficient for Cape Town, Bouwer says the question that should rather be posed is whether the present six cranes on the long quay are sufficient. He thinks not but confirms that permission has been sought for a new crane at a cost of between USD$6 million and $8 million.