Dudula-CSX World Terminals denies reported criticism of Sapo Terry Hutson A LEADING terminal operator, the joint venture of Dudula-CSX World Terminals, fancies its chances of becoming the first concessionaire of a port terminal in South Africa when it bids for the Durban Container Terminal. The process of inviting expressions of interest is expected to be announced within weeks by the minister of Public Enterprises, Jeff Radebe. “We see ourselves as perfectly placed to bid for various concessions which are expected to result from the privatisation process presently underway in South Africa,” says chief executive officer Sithembiso Mthethwa. The South African/American J/V believes that by combining Dudula’s local knowledge and experience with CSXWT’s global expertise it can increase productivity and contribute to ‘the creation of effective solutions to optimise the throughput of South African port terminals.’ CSXWT of course comes with a pedigree of global proportion, including the oft-quoted CT3 container terminal in Hong Kong, which it bills as the most efficient in the world. The company also owns and operates one of Hong Kong’s largest trucking fleets with the world’s largest multi-storied logistics centre. So it’s no surprise that the CSXWT people like to use this as an example when visiting other places, but it was also this that got them into a spot of trouble last week, after inviting one or two of the local media to a presentation of their interest. The headlines in a national newspaper a few days later, however, weren’t to their liking or expectations. “Management blamed for Durban port problems,” it announced - hardly something new, for this is exactly what the government has been tactlessly saying in recent months, but nor was it something on which to raise a local profile, let alone build relationships. Report denied Arno Dimmling, CSXWT’s chief operating officer, has since written to SA Port Operations firmly denying the report, which included the assertion that Sapo unloaded ships using similar methods to the Phoenicians. “The purpose of our trip was to familiarise top management with local conditions and to formally present our credentials to both the South African government and key industry players,” he wrote. Dimmling claimed that what he really said was that the maritime industry in general had seen only two major advances since the days of the Phoenicians - the first being the transformation from sail to steam and the second the introduction of cellular vessels and containerisation in general, and that CSX had been at the forefront of both changes by having built up and sold the largest steamship liner company in the world and having invented containerisation as a means of servicing its fleet. The reporter in question claims her article is accurate and says CSXWT emphasised that management and not equipment was the problem at DCT. So there it stands, or at least until the next potential operator arrives to make its pitch, and who knows perhaps queer things a little in the process. And you thought it a quiet week for shipping?
