Need for short service shipping

An urgent need for greater connectivity between the three Eastern Cape ports, and between the province and the rest of the sub region creates an opportunity for the introduction of short service sea links, says Brian Molefe, Transnet group chief executive. “We have to ask ourselves why we are scared of the sea. There is a definite business opportunity to provide a short sea service running between Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town,” he said. A short sea service would improve connectivity faster and at a lower cost to the country than rail upgrades. “We have to think creatively about using the sea to transport both goods and people,” he said. CAPTION Brian Molefe … ‘We have to think creatively.’