Record 90 908 container moves last month
Alan Peat
CONGRATULATIONS WHERE they are due, said Dave Watts of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) in Durban, referring to the Durban container terminal (DCT) managing 90 908 container moves last month - an all-time record in his book.
“That’s well in excess of their current design capacity and would relate to 1.3-million container moves a year,” he told FTW.
“The fact that they’re doing it with equipment that’s out of date is a credit to them.”
A lot of it is related to the DCT working a full 24-hours-a-day, he added, and with extra gangs in place.
“All we can hope for is that they can keep it up to this sort of pace,” Watts said.
He also pointed to the fact that export boxes stored at the DCT reached 17 050 the day before he talked to FTW (December 5).
“Their capacity is 18 000,” Watts said, “so that’s close to overflowing.”
This, he added, was mostly because of ship diversions to alternative ports.
“But they also moved a hell of a lot of exports yesterday,” Watts said, “and they’re getting ahead.”
All good news given the recent congestion circumstances in Durban, he added, and time for a pat on the back for the DCT.
