Sapo gets the thumbs-up for handling of storm delays

THE STORM two weeks ago which
shut the port of Durban for 48-hours
led to delays of three-to-four days
for container ships waiting to dock,
according to the shipping industry.
But the after-effect on the landside
movement of freight was minimal, road
transporters told FTW.
According to Dave Rennie, chairman
of the Container Liner Operators’
Forum (Clof), the industry is levying no
blame on the port authorities for the
delays in berthing ships – with storm
conditions a natural force beyond the
control of man.
The Durban container terminal
(DCT), said Rennie, worked very hard
over the two weeks after the storm
subsided, and containers were unloaded
and loaded at an acceptable rate.
Indeed, Clof feels that a sufficiently
high level of focus has fallen on previous problems at the terminal –
and the likes of Maria Ramos, Transnet
CEO, taking an individual interest,
ensures that promises of improved
productivity are fulfilled.
There were no problems in landside
freight movement, according to Kevin
Martin, vice-chairman of the Durban
harbour carriers division of the SA
Association of Freight Forwarders
(Saaff).
There were some minor glitches,
he told FTW. Sapo’s plan to move out
import containers during the harbour
closure – and clear space on the quays
– certainly worked. “But delays in
vessels arriving at the terminal meant
that stack dates had to be delayed, and
road transporters had to hold back on
delivering export containers until the
stacks eventually opened,” he said.
However these ups and downs
tended to balance each other out and
truckers’ schedules were little different
from normal.
Martin also pointed out that the
storm arrived at the right time, in a
way, with March being normally a quiet
month in the year – and seafreight
imports at a natural low anyway.
The storm and its aftermath also
did little to dent Sapo’s confidence that
it will be able to cope with the pre-
Christmas rush in imports from August
to November – which it forecasts will
see container volumes increase by up
to 15% during this peak period.
One of the main factors in Sapo
achieving success will be the opening
of the new container handling capacity
at Pier One in May – providing the
additional capacity to handle another
750 000-TEUs each year.