Shipping lines have called on Transnet to redeploy tugs from the Eastern Cape to the Port of Cape Town as a matter of urgency. Several shipping line representatives attending a business stakeholder meeting in Cape Town last week told Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) chief executive Nozipho Sithole that the tugs in Cape Town were an increasing concern.
This came after Sithole opened the floor to questions from industry about challenges being experienced at the port. The tugs were immediately identified as one of the biggest problems for liners. Not only was the availability of tugs a challenge, he said, but also the size. “Vessels are getting bigger meaning we need bigger tugs. In Cape Town, the tugs are small and they are always breaking down.”
In April three tugs were required to refloat and secure a CMA CGM vessel after her bow struck the South Breakwater while entering the Cape Town Container Terminal at low tide.
While Cape Town did take delivery of a new tug in November last year as part of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) national nine-tug construction contract, the fleet is considered old and small. Shipping lines told Sithole that while the new tug Usiba had boosted marine efficiency, operations were still impacted negatively by the tugs.
“The Ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura have five huge tugs of 70 bollard pulls between them while in Cape Town there is only one. That is ludicrous,” said another liner representative.
“If one looks at the statistics of the Port of Ngqura, and granted we as industry might not have all the stats available to us, then it does 60 moves a month where the Port of Cape Town does 100.”
Also, said another representative, in the Port of Port Elizabeth you had new big tugs servicing vessels that were hardly ever longer than 300 metres while in Cape Town nearly all the vessels were 300 metres or more. It also has passenger liners coming in, not to mention that the weather conditions are more severe in the Western Cape.
“It just does not make sense to have five big new tugs in the Eastern Cape,” he said. “From an industry perspective, we would want to see one or even two of the tugs from the Eastern Cape redeployed to Cape Town immediately.”
While tugs technically do not fall under Sithole’s jurisdiction, she told industry she would take up the conversation with her TNPA counterpart as a matter of urgency. “We will look at the tugs, the sizes of the vessels and the volumes,” she said.
“If we need to move a tug or two then that is what we will do. We will make it happen.” Commenting on the use of helicopters to deliver pilots to ships, Sithole said a study had been undertaken several years ago and would be revisited in an effort to determine if the port was suitable for helicopter operations or not.
A TNPA spokesman told FTW that marine operations were under pressure in Cape Town, with many inherited problems from the past.
“We are also struggling with marine technical manager positions that have been vacant for more than two years. We are working on the tugs and are aware of industry concerns.”
In the meantime, he said, four tugs would be back in operation by this week after several breakdowns again saw several of the boats out of action.
