A trial to use articulated skips instead of traditional skips in the chrome loading operation at the Maydon Wharf Terminal has set an efficiency record of more than 50%, increasing the loading rate from an average of 140 tonnes to 350 tonnes per hour per vessel crane.
This is according to Samancor Chrome and Transnet who have partnered with Bidfreight Port Operations and Steinweg to run the project to improve efficiency and maintain competitiveness.
“Vessel turnaround time also improved by over 40%, with the vessel completing the loading of 20 000 tons of chrome in three and a half days. The automation in the articulated skips also improved crane swing times from a maximum of 8 to 3.5 minutes,” Samancor Chrome and Transnet said in a joint statement on Thursday.
This Maydon Wharf trial will be extended to other bulk handling terminals across the country, with potential full rollout, if successful. The process enhanced safety, improved productivity, and was cost effective in the long term, the companies said.
Maydon Wharf terminal manager, Sihle Mpungose, commended the team for the successful pilot after the MW Observator recently set sail, carrying export chrome to China.
Samancor group manager logistics and exports, Lawrence Pillay, said the company was grateful to its partners for investing in and supporting the trial.
“This is the first piece of new equipment – articulated skip – that has been introduced since the original skip loading operation, which was first introduced in the late 1970s. If partnered correctly between TPT (Maydon Wharf and Richards Bay) and the industry, this could be a game changer for all neo-bulk exports out of South Africa,” Pillay said.
