Transnet has blamed the congestion in Cape Town port at the peak of the deciduous fruit season largely on staffing issues and inclement weather, including fog and high wind speeds of up to 90 kilometres per hour.
This comes after port users and transporters highlighted growing concern about backlogs at the port at the height of the grape export season. They said it seemed that leave allocations and high staff absenteeism over the festive season, as well as equipment breakdowns and bad weather, had led to the long delays.
One transporter, who asked to remain anonymous, said there had been nine vessels waiting along the coast to enter Cape Town port on Thursday.
“As of yesterday there were nine vessels waiting outside, one of which had been out there for two weeks - and it just compounds the problem. One shipping line, PIL, has deployed nine vessels along the route. In an ideal world we would see the vessels spread out on the route to the Far East, but as of two days ago seven were outside the SA coast,” he said.
The port was currently not operating optimally, he added.
“In general there is extreme pressure on the terminal and it is not helped by the fact that all of last night and this morning there was wind…and it is peak grape and deciduous fruit season,” he said.
Apart from the wind, equipment breakdowns and high staff absenteeism levels have compounded the problem.
Marine consultant Dave Watts said the truck booking system that had been implemented in Cape Town was also not working for transporters.
Cape Town Port Liaison Forum chairman, Mike Walwyn, said the industry was concerned about the delays.
“The industry and the trade is very concerned at the slow pace of operations and the poor productivity in the port, especially as we get to the top of the growth of the fruit season,” he said.
The transport industry is expected to hold a meeting with Transnet management on Thursday, January 13.
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said in a statement in response to Freight News’s questions that weather, staffing issues and increased cargo volumes had exacerbated the delays.
“The festive season is one of the busiest periods in the calendar of logistics and TPT operations. Incidents of workplace Covid-19 cases, along with scheduled holiday breaks, intensified the workload, especially towards the end of December where we noted an increase in cargo volumes,” TPT said.
“Inclement weather in Cape Town introduces an average 39 days of downtime in terminal operations during the deciduous fruit season. Fog and wind speeds more than 90 kilometres per hour deem it unsafe for the terminal to operate, and often result in truck and ship traffic at the terminal. The long Christmas weekend as well as New Year’s eve, combined with the city’s power outage, weather delays and the peak of the deciduous fruit season with increasing volumes, have resulted in the current congestion,” TPT said.
To ameliorate the delays, equipment availability has been increased to 24 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, with 30% of the fleet able to operate under windy conditions of up to 90 kilometres per hour.
“Resources have been maximised with the ending of planned leave and the terminal is working around the clock to clear the backlog. The terminal continues to plan with and give feedback to customers through regular communication channels daily in order to keep momentum of the deciduous fruit season, which is currently at its peak,” TPT said.
