Hauliers get brief respite in heavy container dispute

Permit will be considered with motivation
JOY ORLEK
AN INTERIM decision on the movement of heavy containers by road on the Durban – Gauteng corridor will bring temporary respite to transporters of abnormal loads. This follows a meeting of members of the Road Freight Association abnormal load division held in Durban last week with the local authorities regarding recent moves to prohibit the issue of an abnormal permit to any carrier wishing to convey a recognised container whose mass exceeds 25 tons. “We will be preparing a document to be forwarded to the Abnormal Load Technical Committee (ALTC) of the Department of Transport (DoT),” said Sampie Swanepoel, who heads up the abnormal load division of the RFA. “In the interim transporters must submit a motivation to apply for an abnormal permit where the mass of the container exceeds the set limit.” In the original decision, announced by the ALTC, a committee set up by the DoT to monitor, amend and introduce the laws that govern the conveyance of abnormal loads, there were no exemptions and the container could only be moved 25kms. “Our company specialises in the conveyance of abnormal, overweight or oversize cargo throughout the region,” Graham Leith of Transcor Truck Hire told FTW. “This decision has obviously been introduced to force the importers and exporters to use Spoornet to move heavy containers long distances . The alternative is to unpack the container until the mass is considered legal.” Leith believes the decision is unlikely to prevent road transporters from moving heavy containers. “It will simply move it ‘underground’ and certain carriers will continue to move heavy boxes,” he said. “The quandary facing the shipping industry is that in the event of an overload the proposed legislation will allow an officer not only to prosecute the carrier, but also the consignor.” Industry sources believe this could be a serious problem for movers of abnormal loads by road. “Reefer containers are notoriously heavy and exporters who fill these reefer boxes to capacity to meet foreign requirements could find themselves in a difficult situation,” says Leith. “Try telling the export banana farmer in Hazyview that his 33 ton reefer containers must be moved to a Spoornet siding within 25 kms and wait for the next train to take the containers to Durban to meet a vessel when a road haulier can uplift and deliver within 12 hours!” The ALTC, the industry and the RFA are scheduled to meet in March when the issue will once again come under the spotlight.