Dearth of activity in Table Bay reflects economic meltdown

The ‘mini-flotilla’ of merchant ships customarily dotting the Table Bay ocean line has dwindled in recent months, a sure indicator of the economic meltdown that holds the world in an anaconda grip. Was a time, certainly toward the end of last year, when a dozen or so vessels of all types could be seen at anchor off the port of Cape Town, with bunching, particularly of container ships, an all-too-familiar phenomenon. Come morning at the start of another weekend, I could only spot two awaiting berthing. The reported influx of ships intent on bypassing the Suez Canal in favour of the roundthe- Cape route to avoid piracy – some suggest also the steep Suez transit charges – has yet to materialise. MSC, the largest player in trades to and from South Africa, says only a handful of its vessels have bypassed the Cape in recent months, specifically calling at Cape Town to pick up empty containers for Asia. Captain Roy Martin, a Durban-based maritime expert, says a large number of vessels, particularly tankers and bulkers planning to sail around the Cape, would be too big to enter port and would have to make do with offshore bunkering, Sanjay Govan, National Ports Authority manager for Cape Town, agrees with Oscar Borchards, business unit executive at the Cape Town Container Terminal, that while the number of vessels visiting the Mother City port has not decreased significantly, their call sizes certainly have. Borchards told FTW an average of 16 container ships called at Cape Town weekly, up to a maximum of 22 on occasion. He says terminal statistics reveal that imports were down 7% and exports 5% in the 12 months to March but exports declined 25% in April. “One month does not reflect the whole story, however,” he says. Albert Schuitmaker, executive at the Cape Town Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says the reduction is very much related to the global economy, which is having a “major impact” on volumes being shipped to Cape Town. Andile Nomlala, provincial chairman of the SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union, says Satawu has held talks with TNPA to stave off retrenchments and has agreed to forego a pay increase for union members this year, given a decline in the workload and no imminent prospects of change for the better.