Congestion at the Port of Cape Town is on the increase – and shippers want answers.
“It started in Durban and that situation put strain on the Cape Town port – but it is now as much of a problem in Cape Town,” said Terry Gale, chairman of the Exporters’ Club Western Cape.
He said vessels could be seen waiting outside the port to berth for days on end. “And the waiting time has been increasing,” he said. In recent days one vessel waited more than ten days before it berthed. “One has to ask why we are seeing this congestion,” Mike Walwyn, chairman of the Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLF), told FTW.
Transnet Port Terminals representatives told the PLF that the current waiting time outside the Port of Cape Town was an average five days. Walwyn said weather was definitely affecting operations with the port being windbound several times in the past few weeks.
In February alone the port was wind-bound for more than 190 hours. “Equipment is a major problem. The port’s best straddle carriers were moved to Durban to deal with the equipment challenges there and it would seem they were not sent back. Instead six older cranes were sent to Cape Town.”
He said with Transnet having opted for a Rubber Tyre Gantry operation, wind remained problematic. “The RTGs struggle in heavy winds and only operate up to wind speeds of 80km per hour before having to be shut down.” The change to a hybrid terminal, utilising straddle carriers as well as RTGs, had helped, but the extremely strong winds experienced recently had also put them out of action, he added.
According to Gale the situation was being exacerbated by a lack of information. “There was a vessel outside the berth that had not berthed for two weeks and no one knew why. There might be a very valid reason, but then communicate it,” he said.
It is believed that Transnet engineers are working around the clock to deal with the equipment challenges. Not only is the equipment aging and being worked hard, but maintenance is also an issue. Several machines have to be refurbished urgently, while several others are more or less obsolete.
“There are frequent port closures and that is seriously impacting the industry,” one freight forwarder told FTW. He said apart from weather and equipment, union meetings and labour engagements in February had also seen the port gates closed for hours at a time.
Hauliers in particular are feeling the brunt with one operator saying there were very real knock-on effects due to the delays. When this issue went to print TPT had not responded to requests for comment.
INSERT
In February alone the port was wind-bound for more than 190 hours. – Mike Walwyn
