Landside congestion clogs New Pier terminal

Truckers complain of 13-hour delays TERRY HUTSON THERE’S AN ongoing crisis at the new Pier 1 container terminal that cannot be fixed with mere words and promises. That’s what freight forwarders and truckers told FTW last week, following several days of chaotic congestion outside the terminal gates. Landside users of Pier 1 container terminal, known colloquially as ‘105’, say operations are not going well because of a lack of equipment and inexperienced personnel. Delays in collecting containers by road are getting worse, not better. FTW was given examples of delays of 8 to 13 hours, with heavy trucks backing up several kilometres along Bayhead Road and causing unacceptable congestion for other road users. In that time they could have completed a journey to Gauteng. Most local drivers have to return for To page 8 From page 1 additional containers and repeat the whole cycle, which because of the delay is no longer an option. Denver Wright, vice chairman of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders in KZN, blames an excess of transhipment containers for clogging the system, while the owner of Sunny’s Transport, a Durban trucking company, said he would no longer accept loads for ‘105’. “Talking makes no difference, in future I won’t take any job that involves 105,” he told FTW, saying that three of his vehicles were each delayed for 13 hours last Thursday (June 9). “Each one was outside the gate for eight hours, but when they finally got inside there was another delay of between three and four hours while ‘105’ personnel scratched around trying to find the containers.” He blamed Sapo for leaving learner drivers to work the straddle carriers, and claimed one straddle carrier had to service 150 lorries after midnight. Kevin Martin of Freightliner Transport and vice chairman of the Durban Harbour Carriers’ Association called 105 ‘an absolute disaster’ and said the reason for the problem was a shortage of equipment and lack of space in the stacking area. “It’s going to become an even bigger problem when transporters refuse jobs where 105 is involved,” he warned. Attempts to speak to Sapo were unsuccessful, but the organisation is currently advertising for rubber tyred gantries and other equipment for the new terminal, which will take several years before delivery.