Operations at the Port of Cape Town were expected to be restored at midnight on Tuesday after a persistent southeasterly howled down the coast into Table Bay, rendering vessel berthing and cargo moves at the container terminal (CTCT) impossible, an industry source had said.
This was confirmed by CTCT, who informed the shipping industry that the port was “windbound due to adverse weather conditions.
“According to the latest weather forecast, the strong winds are expected to subside by midnight.”
As part of attempts to expedite the resumption of vessel berthing and throughput in and out of the port following four days of weather disruption since last Friday, CTCT said: “Our operations team is closely monitoring the wind conditions hourly to ensure a safe and prompt resumption of activities.
“A post-wind recovery plan will be shared on all platforms, to minimise delays and ensure a smooth operation as soon as the weather permits.”
The source, who requested anonymity, said: “We have known since time immemorial that the Cape is a place of storms, especially this time of year. But over the last few days, we have seen wind speeds in excess of 100 kilometres an hour, sometimes approaching 120 kilometres an hour.
“That’s extremely dangerous and is certainly not a Transnet issue,” she said.
“There’s no way any vessel-working can be conducted in such conditions.”
Freight News columnist Clifford Evans said he saw a loaded container vessel rolling in heavy swells in the Bay.
“I’ve lived here all my life, but it's still scary to see weather like this.”
The source said: “The wind picked up on Friday and only yesterday (17 February) was I told that a brief spell of cargo movement took place when the wind subsided around midday. By about three o'clock in the afternoon, the port was windbound again.”
Evans remarked that the next test, provided the weather prediction for relief around midnight was correct, would be to see how quickly the port could bounce back from the current weather situation.
“I have heard from an agent that the plan is to speed up vessel-working through some of the smaller box ships requiring fewer moves. Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has shown that it has the capacity to improve vessel movement in and out of the three available berthing slots, weather permitting," the source said.
But not everyone shares the waterside operator’s optimism.
A harbour carrier who runs a small transport business said: “The stuff-up is going to come in on the landside when the port fills up with boxes and trucks, those with and without booking slots.
“No matter how hard we try to convince Transnet that the (truck slot) booking system can’t keep pace with waterside moves, and that the port precinct fills up with too many trucks, preventing those with bookings from getting in and out of the mess, they won’t listen.”
Asked if he was willing to go on record, the operator said: “Please no. It’s hard as it is to run my business.”
As has been explained to Freight News before, he said there was a disconnect between TPT’s booking system and the ports proprietor, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).
"TNPA shouldn’t allow trucks without slots into the precinct — finish and klaar. But because they do, non-compliant carriers send trucks to the port thinking they might get slots. This build-up causes delays, so operators with slots arrive early to comply with their allocated times. It’s a groot gemors (big mess)."
- This report was finished at 1pm on 18 February and was not sent to Transnet for comment.
