Portnet agrees to share lines' pain

20 Apr 2000 - By Staff reporter

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Agreement reached over compensation
for berthing delays, writes Terry Hutson

PORTNET HAS reached a watershed agreement with the major liner operators calling at the Durban container terminal by accepting that it must pay compensation penalties for berthing delays.
In terms of the agreement, which came into effect on April 1, Portnet has agreed to pay penalties for any berthing delays at the terminal over 16 hours. This is subject to a number of conditions such as the lines being within allocated berthing windows and other communication criteria.
Shipping lines have long complained about the huge losses they suffer from ships having to wait outside the port as a result of periodic congestion in the Durban terminal. Now, according to Portnet general manager Ronnie Kingwill, Portnet will share in their pain and in the risks undertaken by the shipping lines. The agreement does however appear to indicate that Portnet feels it is over the worst with major problems now behind it, significantly teething troubles with the introduction of the COSMOS computer logistics system last July.
Last month (March) the Durban container terminal handled its second highest ever container volume,
76 406 containers or 99 045 TEUs, without any reported delays. In the first three months this year the terminal is up 19% on last year (214 040 boxes/276 309 TEUs versus 179 660/223 489 TEUs in 1999).
Conditions applying to the new compensation formula include ship arrivals being based on ETA information linked to a berthing window of six hours, to be planned according to weekly scheduling.
The names of the two P&O Ports experts who have been seconded to the Durban container terminal (first announced in FTW two weeks ago), have also been released. They are Eric Bubeer who becomes container terminal manager for a period of 12 months from April 17, and Alan Miles who will assist him as terminal operations manager for 6 months from May 1.
Bubeer has been serving with P&O Ports in Italy and Miles in Buenos Aires.
According to Kingwill, the appointment of the two P&O Ports men will lead to improved productivity, but at the same time three new operations shift managers, drawn from an empowerment process will benefit from a skills transfer programme. It is expected that the future container terminal manager will be drawn from one of these three.
Until the new port CEO-designate Tau Morwe takes up his post on May 1 Patrick Dada, g.m. human resources, will continue to look after the Port of East London with Mdu Nene, g.m. technical and marine, keeping an eye on Richards Bay.