Transnet Port Terminals’
mobile application, SpotLight
– which provides up-tothe-
minute information on
operational issues in port –
has, to date, not lived up to its
promise of easing congestion,
according to transport service
providers interviewed by FTW.
Launched in July last year,
the app enables port users
to receive notifications of
congestion or operational
issues in the ports of Richards
Bay, Cape Town and Durban’s
Pier 1 and 2, with all other
terminals expected to be added
soon. Transporters can view
details about vessels currently
working in terminals and
track and trace containers and
trucks within the port queuing
system as the app pulls data
directly from the Navis system.
“Unfortunately an app does
not solve the problem,” said
CEO of logistics and transport
management company, TSI
Central Station. He suggested
to FTW that a “better way to
do this” would be to create
a registering system, with a
50-kilometre lead time, that
would advise port controllers
that the vehicle was en-route.
“This would allow TPT
officials to advise the driver
that he is to enter the port at
a pre-designated time and
that way they can control the
flow,” Blackburn explained.
All the vehicles that don’t
use the system should go
into the “not registered
queue” and wait until they
are attended to, in his
view. “This would make the
management of congestion a
thing of the past,” Blackburn
commented.
A TPT spokesperson
confirmed that just under
17 500 users of the app had
been registered to date.
CAPTION
The port of Durban remains congested, especially during peak
times.
Port congestion an ongoing issue – despite new app
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