Durban port congestion issues – a shipper perspective

A lack of logistics planning to
accommodate high container
volume new generation ships
calling at the Port of Durban
is contributing to peaks of
frequent congestion followed
by troughs of unproductive
periods at the Durban
Container Terminal.
Citrus Growers’ Association
of Southern Africa logistics
development manager
Mitchell Brooke has called
on Transnet Port Terminals
and Transnet National Ports
Authority to find solutions
to what he has described as
four pillars that are leading to
congestion.
These include:
• A lack of planning of stack
dates to prevent “bunching”
that is creating cyclical
peaks and troughs in
throughput – especially
when the five major
shipping line services call at
the port.
• Durban Container
Terminal’s historic
structural design that
is hampering waterside
efficiency.
• Equipment downtime
and availability creating
problems, where for
example half the straddles
were out of production
during a recent two-week
period.
• Labour productivity and
unrest.
Brooke said
data analysis
showed that
there were
13-16 main
shipping
services calling
at Pier 1 and 2
per week – and
around 10 000
containers
had to move
through Pier 1
and about
32 000
through Pier
2. He said Durban port had
handled 2.6 million in 2016, a
decline from a peak of 2.77m
TEUs in 2015.
“We have seen a decline
of coastal and deep sea
containers and we have seen
a rise in transhipments – but
the most important thing to
consider is the average size
of vessels calling in Durban,”
Brooke said.
“From 2007 to 2017 the
average number of containers
on container vessels increased
from 1600 to 3100 – so the
number of containers moving
on and off each vessel has
doubled, and
the size of
vessels has
gone from
26 000 GRT to
56 000 GRT,”
Brooke said.
The number
of vessels
calling in
Durban had
dropped from
1600 to 896
for the period
and this was
expected to
drop to 850 in
2017, he added.
“We have got bigger vessels
coming in, pushing in parcel
sizes in a shorter time frame;
it must congest the landside
in some aspect so it will be
interesting to see how DCT
identifies this and how they
have counteracted that
phenomenon.”
Brooke said typical large
vessels such as the 141 635-
GRT MSC Benedetta were
calling while Safari was
bringing vessels averaging
between 80 000 and 90000
GRT – which moved on
average between 6500 and
7000 TEUs.
“The top five vessels that
call Pier 2 account for 67%
of the total TEUs that are
handled through the terminal
(at Pier 2),” he said.
An analysis of stack dates
showed that when big vessels
called in close proximity to
each other there was a flood of
containers the terminal could
not handle.
“On the reefer side, there
are five or six main lines that
take reefer containers and if
those stacks are lined together
all it does is cause the cold
stores in Durban to have
to load up an entire week’s
packing in three days – and
for four days they’re mostly
unproductive,” he said.
Brooke advised TPT and
DCT to investigate how the
port could internally find a
way to structure the stacks to
ensure smooth throughput to
avoid peaks and troughs in the
supply chain.
“The effect of congestion
at DCT in peak citrus season
is so catastrophic, it is hugely
disruptive to our industry so I
am pleading with DCT to try
and move the stacks if possible
to allow the trucks to come in
more evenly.”
He said this could be
achieved by realigning the
arrivals of the big five services,
adjusting stack dates and
improving truck gate moves
from an average of roughly
850 to 1 500 gate moves per
shift.
Brooke added that the
port’s “Z” shaped structure
was not conducive to efficient
waterside operations because
containers were not stacked
directly behind vessel cranes,
slowing down productivity.
He added that traffic flows on
congested arterial roads such
as Edwin Swales, Bayhead
and South Coast Road
were another area that city
engineers and the port needed
to investigate.
FTW was awaiting
comment from TPT when this
issue went to press.
INSERT AND CAPTION
When big vessels call
in close proximity to
each other there is
a flood of containers
the terminal cannot
handle.
– Mitchell Brooke