Government has announced a breakthrough following Transnet’s IT security breach last week.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Public Enterprises, Transnet has managed to restore operations at the ports fully, which now enables the country’s supply chain and logistics system to resume normal operations.
“The main system responsible for the container operations – the Navis N4 terminal operating system - has been fully restored and customers are now able to access the customer links to facilitate imports and exports,” the statement read.
The remaining systems will continue to be brought up in a staggered manner to minimise further risks and interruptions. Transnet Port Terminals, in collaboration with the shipping lines, is facilitating the evacuation of urgent containers for the automotive, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), and agricultural sectors.
“As of Tuesday, July 27, the Durban container terminals were fully functional on Navis with a few other interface systems progressing well. This has brought back both the waterside and landside operations, while the truck booking system was activated yesterday, July 28. The vessels are operating alongside the berths and the shipping lines and cargo owners have partnered with terminal management to ensure efficiencies are increasing,” the statement read.
“In the Eastern Cape, the container operations are working, with some IT functionalities still being restored. The vessels are working in parallel with the manual processes. The Western Cape is fully restored and some IT functions are still being restored.”
The statement also confirms that the stack registration will be completed today, which will speed up the evacuation of containers in the Cape Town terminal.
Customers have been given reassurance that data has not been compromised in all the Transnet operations.
“The bulk, breakbulk, and automotive sectors - which include iron ore, coal and manganese, cars and some of the agricultural commodities that use the general cargo system (GCOS) – immediately switched to manual. This resulted in minimal disruptions in these operations across the port system. Rail operations also continue to run on schedule, as per the train plan.”
A communication platform set up by Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, brought together Transnet management, CEOs and senior representatives of affected companies to exchange information, provide feedback, and discuss similar experiences faced by other countries and how they had resolved such challenges.
The shipping lines, accounting for 70% of the cargo moving across the ports, have given the assurance that South African ports will not be bypassed, and they will continue to work with Transnet during this recovery period.
“Cyberattacks have been on the increase in the country and globally. Investigations are under way into the events and due process will take place. Government commends the leadership of the affected companies for their patience while Transnet worked to restore full operations. Credit goes to the Transnet IT teams who have ensured that the systems are restored within a week. Transnet is accelerating work to strengthen the weaknesses identified in the IT environment. The force majeure is currently in place and under review, with the intention to lift it in the coming days. The speedy recovery has mitigated against the possible job losses that may have been threatened by a prolonged disruption to the IT systems.”
