Transnet has been forced to speed up cargo throughput at the Port of Durban after truckers – taking their behavioural cue from minibus taxis – recently turned the outgoing lane of Bayhead Road into a double lane into the harbour, causing a level of congestion never before experienced at the port. Commenting on the gridlocking, harbour carriers stalwart Kevin Martin told FTW that “it was the first time in the harbour’s history that we have had a situation like this”. Access became so constricted that Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) deployed its waterside craft to ferry employees from the Point Precinct to the Bayhead and Island View Precincts. At the time, transport companies circulated an electronic message calling for a boycott of Durban harbour. “Such blockades at the Durban Container Terminals limit access to both Bayhead and Langeberg roads,” a Transnet spokesman said. According to the spokesperson, Transnet has been working closely with industry bodies to address valid issues raised but appealed for transport companies to engage through the appropriate channels. And while Transnet claimed that the congestion had been short-lived, and had been resolved when it took decisive measures through the SA Police Service and Durban Metro Police, this assertion is at odds with the reality on the ground. On a recent visit to the harbour, FTW found ore trucks queueing for kilometres from Island View Precinct almost all the way to the M4 highway (see story on page 6). One of the drivers, Daniel Skosana, said congestion – which had been a problem since the beginning of the year – had now reached critical proportions. “I have been waiting here since before six this morning. I can’t go to the toilet because I can’t leave my truck and I have to bring everything else with me,” he said as he scraped pap crumbs from a pot out of his cabin window. Asked when he expected to drop off his load of chrome, Skosana said: “Maybe one o’ clock if I’m lucky. Most likely much later this afternoon.” Curious onlookers gathering outside his truck, many of them fellow drivers, confirmed that waiting to offload at the port had become a nightmare. One of the drivers said sometimes they had to sleep in their trucks to offload the next day. Martin said sometimes there were up to 680 trucks waiting to get into the pier area by six in the morning to avoid having to overnight. “If you get there at one minute past six it could take up to 24 hours to drop off your cargo.” And although transporters, fed up with months of congestion, managed to spur Transnet into action through the recent bonnet-to-bonnet blocking of the Bayhead area, FTW has heard of new container terminal issues emerging since the beginning of December. Unconfirmed reports about crane moves slowing at the Port of Cape Town filtered through and at the time of going to press had apparently been recorded at Durban too – down from 19 moves an hour to 14. A reliable source said it wasn’t clear why a go-slow appeared to be developing as ports staff had been paid their incentive bonuses. Martin added that a nationwide go slow seemed to be under way. As South Africa heads into the holiday season, port-side congestion seems to be here to stay.
INSERT: I have been waiting here since before six this morning. I can’t go to the toilet because I can’t leave my truck and I have to bring everything else with me. – Daniel Skosana