Durban and Richards Bay port operations were expected to start slowly on Wednesday as many roads remain closed and Transnet’s staff face massive mop-up operations after their homes were damaged in the deadly KZN floods on Monday night.
Transnet spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said on Tuesday afternoon that disruptive weather conditions in KwaZulu-Natal had adversely affected Transnet’s operations in the province, bringing shipping to a standstill at Durban port.
“We continue to assess the extent of the damage. Heavy rains have damaged the road infrastructure leading into the Port of Durban, affecting access into the terminals. As a precautionary measure and for safety reasons, operations across the Durban Terminals had to be suspended at around 19h30 on April 11. There have been no major incidents reported at the terminals,” Shezi said.
“Shipping has been suspended until further notice as a result of environmental damage caused by the adverse weather and vessels on berth are on standby.”
A multidisciplinary command centre, comprising the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), operators and customers has been set up to monitor activities.
“Customers have been requested to hold back on bringing trucks into the port to avoid congestion. In Richards Bay, the terminals are operating at limited capacity, with challenges experienced in handling wet cargo. Rail lines in certain parts of the province are operating at limited capacity as a result of flooding,” Shezi said.
Transnet Freight Rail’s engineering teams will assess the extent of the damage during the KZN floods before full operations resume.
“The safety of Transnet employees remains paramount. All critical safety inspections will be conducted prior to full resumption of operations to ensure that equipment and infrastructure are safe to use,” Shezi added.
According to an email that Transnet sent to stakeholders on Tuesday, its employees were expected to return to work from 06h00 on Wednesday.
“(We) cannot confirm attendance levels at this stage. It will indeed be a slow start tomorrow. We have worked on the prioritisation of activities for tomorrow,” Transnet said in the email.
Activities that have been prioritised include risk assessments in affected operational areas, servicing of road trucks that have been at the port since Monday, and servicing equipment that is heavily impacted by weather.
“There is also a huge limitation on access roads for our terminals. TNPA and Metro still need to guide and give direction on that front. Bayhead Rd remains closed. They need to tell us what would be the rules for using the Bluff route,” Transnet said.
