Shipping lines could implement a freight surcharge at the Port of Durban unless the extent of current delays is adequately addressed. That’s the warning from MSC chairman Salvatore Sarno who said rising cost as a result of delays at South Africa’s largest port had cost the line US$12 000 000 over the last four months. Sarno told guests at an MSC function in Johannesburg on Thursday that unless there was an improvement, a surcharge would be inevitable. “Looking out to sea from my balcony in Umhlanga I often get to see whales and dolphins playing in the waves, however recently I see lines of ships. Today I saw 19 ships, seven of these container vessels. They are delayed by three, four or five days. It’s not a nice view,” said Sarno. He said shipping lines had recently introduced a surcharge of US$525 per TEU for containers at the port of Apapa, Nigeria, because of the seven- or eight-day delays shipping lines faced at the port. As in Apapa, the surcharge would be necessary to account for lost time and added cost. And these additional costs will ultimately translate into inflation of goods in the economy and an unproductive burden to companies and the consumer. A number of service providers attending the function confirmed that the current situation at the port was a nightmare. Commenting on the cause of the problem, Sarno said it was a compensation dispute between workers and Transnet management. “Bonus structures have been changed and constructive engagement has been lacking,” he added. “Workers are not striking, but they have effectively been on a go-slow for five or six months. Where work gangs normally off-load 22 containers per hour, they are averaging 14 or 15. This translates into an extra two days per ship. The next ship is delayed, and the shipping client is waiting an extra two or three days, some longer, to get their containers. “We have now appealed to the board of Transnet to come to an agreement. We have spoken to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Minister Pravin Gordhan to ask for urgency in sorting out this matter. “These are good workers protesting against something they believe is not right. The situation is bad. If things don’t come right soon we will be obliged to implement a surcharge.”