The manager for the Port of Cape Town, Mpumi Dweba-Kwetana, has informed the freight industry that operations at the port have returned to normal following an extended period of backlogs created by personnel disruption caused by Covid-19.
The announcement is the latest news to emerge from the bi-weekly stakeholder sessions that were initiated to troubleshoot the impact that the coronavirus has had on the port.
A statement released by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) yesterday said the port had reduced vessel waiting time at anchorage and berthing delays, clearing the serious backlog of queued vessels and terminal congestion that had been experienced due to the lockdown, Covid-19, and operational challenges.
Recovery at the Multi-purpose Terminal (MPT), however, is lagging behind the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) where vessel delays are a day at the most.
The MPT is expected to announce its recovery plan at the stakeholder sessions in due course.
“While the storm has abated, it is far from over and we can’t afford to become complacent,” Dweba-Kwetana said.
It has also been confirmed that shipping lines such as Maersk, which had omitted the port from direct calls because of waiting times at sea, have since decided to once more include Cape Town as part of their rotation.
“Earlier this month all marine crew were confirmed to be back on duty after positive cases of Covid-19, coupled with employees in quarantine, had reduced marine operations’ human capital to 60% capacity at the beginning of July,” the statement said.
It added that berthing services were back to normal by the beginning of the month with two berthing gangs in place.
“A new development is that foreign crew changes are now permitted and strict procedures will be communicated.
“Additional technical staff have been contracted at the CTCT to enable the terminal to attend to crane maintenance, instead of only focusing on breakdowns.”
