Tempers flared between truck drivers stuck inside Cape Town’s port precinct as Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) scrambled to deal with a box backlog created by fierce weather conditions and the resulting loss of at least 70 operating hours.
A source who regularly attends port management meetings said the situation was tense and that one violent incident on Thursday, 18 July, involved two truck drivers throwing bricks at one another.
TPT has also complained of extreme cases of verbal abuse, hurled at staff by some transporters.
“It’s really bad and there should never be justification for using foul language, but one can also understand that the truck drivers are really fed up with the current situation,” said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He added that it’s not the first time this has happened.
“Several issues are causing the chaos at the moment. TPT’s truck-booking system isn’t working as it should. As a result, trucks with and without bookings are trying to access the loading area, and some are jumping the queue."
“Security at the outer gate also doesn’t stop trucks without slots from entering the precinct, so you have trucks building up between the main gate and the inner gate to the terminal.”
The source said the landlord of the country’s ports, Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA), does not have access to TPT’s Navis container terminal management system and is therefore not verifying the legitimacy of trucks entering the main gate.
“Anyone can get inside the port. But once they get to the inner gate, TPT will use Navis to prevent certain operators from entering the terminal area. Trucks taking chances also prevent complying operators from utilising their slots, adding to the build-up.”
The source said at a fruit freighters meeting between public-private stakeholders, it was proposed that a green lane be created for time-sensitive cargo, especially seeing as the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) is currently busy with a fruit export season.
It was also mooted that an additional gate used for access to port terminal buildings be used for cold-chain box movement when vessels are being worked at the quay.
“It really is a mess at the moment,” the source said.
“TPT and TNPA should sort out its Navis disconnect so trucks without slots and unregistered operators are not allowed into the port precinct in the first place.
“This morning there was a walkabout by port officials who found that some truck drivers were waiting in the queue at the inner gate at 9:30am when they were only scheduled to collect boxes at 3pm. What were they doing there that early?
“If the booking system is improved, access at the main gate better controlled, and the long-standing Navis issue between TPT and TNPA sorted out, we may not have this mess.
“I can understand that harbour carriers are fed up. They can’t make a living under these conditions, playing catch-up following weather-related delays while Transnet continues to figure out snags in the system that should’ve been sorted out long ago.
“It is also high time that something is done about the number of unregistered and illegal trucks offering harbour carrier services.”
The source said security automation at the main gate should go a long way towards preventing disruption at the terminal.
A notice issued by CTCT confirmed that “we currently have 161 trucks inside the terminal, and we are experiencing multiple equipment breakdowns.
“Therefore, we are closing the gates to alleviate congestion, and we will keep you posted on any changes.”
Regarding the equipment breakdowns, the source said it was also weather-related and that only eight rubber-tyre gantry (RTG) cranes out of 29 were out of service.
Out of nine ship-to-shore cranes, only seven were working.
“They have 46 haulers but it doesn’t help when you’re trying to clear a backlog with only 22 RTGs.”
* This post was updated on Friday, July 19, with a headline change.
