Task force has been put together to sort out all the problems before the April 1 start date
IT'S JUST over two months to go until open gates for container vehicle entry to the Port of Durban container terminal.
And a broad-based task force has been put together to sort out all the problems before the April 1 start date, according to Paul Rayner, m.d. of DTB Cartage, and chairman of the Durban harbour carriers section of the KZN Association of Freight Forwarders.
The Port Liaison Committee was entrusted with putting together this group - including road transporters, clearing and forwarding agents, container depot operators and Portnet, he said. It's broadly representative of all the interested parties as possible.
Rayner also reported that Portnet has now indicated just how they intend to control this new open-to-all scenario. This with a registration procedure allied to the introduction of the port authorities' new Cosmos computer system - which has just gone through its first trial run.
Each road transport company, and all its appropriate vehicles, will have to be registered, said Rayner, with Portnet screening each applicant company before issuing it with its permits.
He also stressed that this would not be a time-consuming exercise. I see it being a matter of a day or two for initial applications - not weeks or months as some people seem to fear, he said.
Transport brokers will also not be inconvenienced provided they have chosen a registered carrier to handle their contracts.
The computer-controlled clearance at the gates will only be a matter of seconds, Rayner added, provided the road vehicle has the necessary registration - and the appropriate secret code attached to its CTO (container terminal order).
This is a vital part of the control system. Portnet will have a secret code (like a PIN number) on each CTO issued to the applicable forwarder, importer, and the like, he said. Without this - or if the scanner detects that it is wrong - it's a case of no entry.
By Alan Peat
