The Port of Durban aims to be among the top five ports on the continent within the next five years – and while it is making progress in improving productivity it still has a long way to go to get to the top.
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) CEO Nozipho Sithole told FTW the port was tackling staff productivity challenges and acquiring new equipment to reduce congestion.
She said Durban Container Terminal’s (DCT) Pier 2 had received 23 replacement straddle carriers to improve the reliability and operational efficiency of the fleet in 2017/18 and a tender for new infrastructure in Richards Bay would soon be issued.
“In October last year, during that storm we lost eight ship-to-shore cranes, some rubber tyre gantries, some buildings, and it was a great trauma to people who were at the Port of Durban at that time. There was a period of about three months when DCT’s terminals were operating at between 25% and 50% of capacity,” she said.
But thanks to the resilience of staff, vessel turnaround times had improved from waiting periods of ten days to within three hours after arrival, she said. “If you look to the skyline at Umhlanga there are very few vessels waiting.”
However, Sithole said TPT was unhappy with the condition of equipment at Richards Bay, although congestion that resulted when the pilot helicopter had to go in for repairs had been resolved since it returned to service in March.
The port was managing the movement of coal, magnetite and chrome but its ageing agricultural plant handling equipment needed to be replaced. She said the port’s wood chip handling equipment was breaking down and had resulted in vessels docking for up to ten days, while the aluminium offloading Alesa equipment needed refurbishing.
“In Richards Bay the major challenge is getting our equipment to the same level as the equipment in the container terminals in Durban. “There is a lot of investment that needs to be made.”
She said TPT had trained its staff in Lean Six Sigma and had also focused on staff supervision.
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Vessel turnaround times have improved from waiting periods of ten days to within three hours after arrival. – Nozipho Sithole
