Navis hiccups ‘to be expected’

The new Navis SPARCS N4
terminal operation system
entered the scene at the
Pier 2 Durban container
terminal on March 27, but
had a severe case of the
introductory hiccups as it came
into operation, according to
trucking operators who shorthaul
containers around the
Durban area.
It’s to be expected, said
Kevin Martin, MD of
container haulier Freightliner
Transport and chairman of
the Durban Harbour Carriers’
Association (DHCA).
No new system comes
into being without problems,
he told FTW, and carriers
shouldn’t complain while
Transnet Port Terminals
(TPT) works its way towards
smoother operation.
It was a bit of a crash on the
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
as the system started off, he
added, but got better towards
week end.
However, said Raymond
Ramjiwian, MD of RJ Freight,
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT)
is happily denying it is having
any problems.
An SMS he had received
from TPT said that truck
delays on Monday – the first
day of full Navis operation
– were “not due to the Navis
migration”, but were the fault
of a large volume of trucks and
the roadworks on the Bayhead
Road access.
But two of RJ’s trucks were
caught up after getting into
the staging area, and the early
morning arrival took 10 hours
to get back out of the terminal,
while a late afternoon arrival
took 11 hours.
Danny Raman of Storm &
Co received the same SMS
not-guilty plea, but he went
and physically checked the
Bayhead Road, and found that
the roadworks were having no
effect on the flow of trucks
into the terminal area. It
was after that that problems
arose, he told FTW, with
his company having “mega
problems” in the first two
or three days after the Navis
intro, although he agreed it
picked up later in the week.
Mathew Grey of Springbok
Trucking also complained of
having a battle to get his trucks
turned around at the terminal.
“Horrifying” was how he
described the first week under
Navis.
“We had our guys stuck
in ‘A check’ (the first part of
the movement through the
terminal) for eight, nine, ten
– even 11 hours,” he added.
“And once in the tower bay,
they were waiting for five
hours, so it must be TPT’s
fault, nothing to do with
roadworks, or anything of the
like.”
The introduction of Navis
in Durban is crucial, said TPT,
given the port’s position as one
of the busiest in Africa.
Recognising that a
successful transition from the
old Cosmos operating system
to that of the fully automated
Navis system required the
full co-operation of all, TPT
discussed its preparations and
contingency planning with its
stakeholders in advance.