Shipping lines are having to do some fancy footwork to accommodate shippers as Durban port operations remain compromised following last week’s cyberattack.
Regional ports in the meantime are picking up the slack, with the latest advisory from Maersk Line demonstrating how the Port of Maputo is stepping into the breach.
The line has advised customers that due to Transnet’s IT issues, the Horizon has been diverted to Maputo for connection of cargo onboard to the Middle and Far East.
Full details of the advisory demonstrate the ripple effect of Transnet’s near paralysis and its impact on schedule reliability, with all Far East imports – once discharged in Maputo – being loaded onto the Rhone Maersk and routed via the Middle East to final destination All Far East exports from Ngqura are being transferred to the Maersk Cardiff to sail directly to the Far East - while Middle East cargo booked from Ngqura will be transferred to the Santa Isabel to connect to the Maersk Rubicon.
For Transnet, last week’s cyber breach coupled with the previous week’s civil unrest has created the perfect storm – and once again brought into sharp focus South Africa’s tenuous hold on its status as the gateway to the continent.
