A new crane to boost operations at the Port of Cape Town is finally en route.
This is according to Tshepo Ramonyaluoe, Senior Manager for operations at Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), who told delegates attending Exporters Western Cape that the crane was expected to arrive later this week.
The crane left the Port of Durban on Tuesday and will bring Cape Town’s ship-to-shore crane numbers to nine.
“The crane brings welcome relief as we are now officially operating three berths. Should any of the eight cranes on these berths require maintenance we will have the capacity to do so without impacting operations.”
The port reverted to a three-berth operation at the end of July, increasing capacity significantly.
According to Ramonyaluoe, operations at the port continue to improve. “We have handled 427 vessels this year to date and the turnaround time has significantly improved. We have only seen nine vessels delayed this year of which the longest delay was only 55 minutes.”
This is a major improvement for the port that was struggling last year with major delays, so much so that vessels were starting to bypass the port.
At present, the waiting time to berth on a bad day is less than 21 hours compared to what it used to be – five days or more in 2021.
“We have made considerable improvements in turning vessels around in the port. Our average at the breakbulk terminal is 43 hours per vessel and 56 hours at the container terminal. There are three gangs and three tugs operational at the port around the clock as well as one pilot, one workboat and one launch. There is absolutely no reason for any vessels to be delayed due to marine services.”
He said efforts to address weather-related issues in the port including wind and surging were ongoing. Having installed a ShoreTension unit at the port successfully, a second unit has been ordered. “The second unit is also expected soon and is currently at sea on its way to Cape Town,” said Ramonyaluoe. These long hydraulic rams that secure ships with high-strength mooring lines in ports have been highly effective in the Cape Town port.
