Shipping lines operating at South Africa’s ports are in agreement with Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) that operations at the Port of Durban have improved – but more work needs to be done.
“Congestion at the port has improved on the face of things as it is definitely more consistent than it was before,” MSC national commercial director Glenn Delve told FTW. “Previously there were many variations in the levels of productivity between shifts but this has evened out.”
He said, however, that TPT CEO Nozipho Sithole’s statement that vessel turnaround times had improved from a ten-day to three-hour waiting period was a bit optimistic. “Turnaround times at the port have improved substantially, but I wouldn’t say that turnaround time has improved to three hours as we’ve seen ships being delayed for up to a full day, although some vessels have been able to berth on arrival,” said Delve.
Industry consensus appears to support Delve’s view, although several sources pointed out that import volumes were down and the peak citrus export season was a month away – which meant that capacity was not under pressure. Delve added that some vessels were still bypassing the port in favour of other ports such as Ngqura in order to put less pressure on the port, which was helping to ease congestion.
An industry source told FTW that there were some concerns over whether the improvement in congestion would continue over the course of the year bearing in mind the looming reconstruction of DCT’s Pier 2.
The Brics New Development Bank recently approved US$200 million for the reconstruction project which is aimed at enhancing capacity to provide additional slots for vessels, as well as strengthening the quay and increasing the draught of the berth. This will, in effect, place more pressure on the terminal at Pier 1 as Pier 2 will be out of commission.
CAPTION
Last year, congestion at the port put tremendous pressure on the shipping industry, especially following the chaos caused by the October storm.
