Sapo reveals new plan to reduce ship delays

Operating centre will respond to unexpected crises TERRY HUTSON SA PORT Operations (SAPO) plans to introduce a national operating centre along the lines of a system in use in Australia. Sapo has been holding a series of meetings with stakeholders around the port cities to discuss these and other developments, but has so far appeared shy of making any public announcement. The latest meetings took place at several port cities last week but FTW has learnt that details of the operating centre were previously revealed at a meeting of SACTAB – the advisory board dealing with container terminal matters – several weeks ago. According to an FTW reader who attended this meeting, the operating centre will be geared to respond to any sudden unexpected crisis affecting service delivery, including such issues as a ship being unexpectedly delayed along the route and not able to adhere to its agreed slot arrival at one of the container terminals. In this event the operating centre would alert the relevant terminal of the delay and prepare contingencies for its belated arrival. “Suppose that the wheels came off in Cape Town, perhaps because of weather, with a ship or ships incurring delays of 40 or 60 hours,” said our informant, “this information would then be fed to the next port to deal with that delay by adjusting stack times, laying on extra personnel, additional cranes and other equipment to help make up the lost time.” The Durban container terminal on Pier 2 expects to take into service an additional three IMPSA ship to shore cranes although it would appear that delivery of the first crane, which is being assembled at a site next to DCT, has been delayed.