'Iconic' moment for Durban Port

Durban port received its first
post-Panamax vessel in an
historic milestone when the
world’s biggest pure car and
truck carrier (PCTC), Hoëgh
Target, docked last Friday
morning on its maiden voyage.
Hoëgh Autoliners
head of Africa, William
Hepplewhite, said the 14-deck
environmentally friendly vessel
with its 71 400 sqm of cargo
space would load and offload
around 3500 vehicles before
sailing for the Far East via
Maputo, Madagascar, Reunion,
Mauritius and Australia. The
vessel, which has deck space
the size of ten football fields
and cargo capacity of 8500 car
equivalent units, emits only half
the CO2 per car transported
compared to standard car
carriers.
Hepplewhite said the vessel
had uploaded trucks and vans
in Port Elizabeth but declined
to disclose the brands citing
client confidentiality.
“It’s always a pleasure to have
a new vessel coming down,
especially when it is the biggest
vessel in the world,” he said.
“Vessels are getting bigger and
bigger and the benefit is that
costs are getting smaller.”
Hoëgh Target is 200 metres
long and 26 metres wide and
can hold the weight of 75 adult
elephants on the stern ramp,
which can bear 375 tonnes
of cargo. The vessel’s doors
are higher than standard car
carriers and can accommodate
high-sided trucks and vehicles
up to 6.5 metres high and 12
metres wide. If all the vehicles
it can hold were parked
bumper to bumper the traffic
queue would measure 42 km.
Transnet Port Terminals
KwaZulu-Natal general
manager, Zeph Ndlovu, said
the docking was an “historic
and iconic moment” for the
port which had widened and
deepened the harbour mouth
and berths to be able to receive
post-Panamax vessels, as part
of the parastatal’s R300-billion
market demand strategy.
“We widened the harbour
mouth from 120 to 220 metres
so that we can accept vessels of
this size and we can have one
coming in and one going out at
the same time,” he said.
Ndlovu added that the
docking was also significant
because vehicle sales were a
barometer of economic growth
and 90% of the vehicles being
offloaded were destined for the
local market while the balance
was headed for Botswana,
Namibia, Swaziland and other
SADC countries.
Discharging turnaround
time would be 24 hours,
Ndlovu said, as staff financial
incentives for meeting targets
and better management had
improved productivity.
“We have improved handling
capacity from 100 to 140 car
equivalent units per hour,” he
said.
Durban port manager
Moshe Motlohi said the
ship’s docking confirmed
that the port was one of the
most connected ports in the
world.
Hoëgh Autoliners head
of Asia, Africa and Middle
East region, Tore Listad,
said South African ports had
become a cornerstone in the
liner’s global trade existence,
connecting it with major
ports in the world.
Officially launched
in June, Hoëgh Target
began its maiden voyage in
Xiamen, China, sailing to
Britain via South Korea,
Japan and European ports
before heading for Africa on
its way back to China.
The vessel will operate
on the East Asia to Europe
route and is the first of six
green post-Panamax vessels
that the company will take
delivery of in the next 18
months.
CAPTION
Tore Listad (head of region for Hoëgh), Zeph Ndlovu ( TPT general manager), Logie Naidoo (Ethekwini
speaker) and Moshe Motlohi (Durban port manager) cut the ribbon to signal the arrival of the Hoegh
Target, the first of six environmentally friendly post-Panamax New Horizon design vessels.