Embattled Durban terminal breaks the records

Terry Hutson DESPITE THE heaps of criticism that pour from all sides on Durban’s besieged container terminal (DCT), it continues to exceed the number of containers handled, and that’s before the so-called ‘peak months’ arrive! Added to this accomplishment, at present there is no congestion or delay being recorded at DCT, something which SA Port Operations chief executive Tau Morwe is confident will remain the case, “unless there is some really bad weather or some other outside influence.” During the 12 months June 2002 - May 2003 the terminal handled a record 1.360 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalents) and lived up to its claim of being the largest and busiest container terminal in the southern hemisphere. During May this year DCT achieved its highest ever turnover of 91 054 containers (or 120 727 TEUs), which was accomplished despite having one terminal crane down for repairs. The previous record of 90 908 containers (119 269 TEUs) was posted in November 2002, one of the typical peak months.