Transnet National Ports Authority’s new web-based Integrated Port Management System (IPMS) went live on 26 July at the pilot site, the Port of Durban, with the crude oil tanker, Colorado, the first to be brought into the port using the new system.
Developed by Navayuga Infotech, a company based in India, in collaboration with their South African partner Nambiti Technologies, the IPMS replaces manual processes, with key port operations now set to be automated, online and in real time.
The project will cost TNPA around R79 million for the entire system, for all eight South African ports, covering concept development, architecture, implementation and rollout.
TNPA chief executive, Richard Vallihu, said: “This online system will help transform our ocean gateways into smartPORTs by using advanced information technology that will make them more intelligent and sustainable, while conserving resources, time, space and energy.”
Vallihu said the IPMS was benchmarked against Malaysian and Singaporean ports which were among the world’s most efficient. “The IPMS system will be a ground-breaking initiative in that for the first time in the world a system such as this is integrated across multiple ports on a single platform,” he added.
Yugen Reddy of Sharaf Shipping Agency foresees significant benefits. “With IPMS we will be able to use our smart phones or tablets while we’re out and about to update the system and get acknowledgment from TNPA on the spot with regards to sailing or berthing of vessels,” he said.
IPMS will link to Transnet Freight Rail’s Integrated Train Plan (ITP) and Train Execution Management System (TEMS). It is also integrated with global systems such as Lloyds Register, AIS (for vessel traffic management), IPOSS (for weather), EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) and SAP (for business operations, customer relations and finance).
From Durban the project team will move on to Cape Town and Saldanha, then Port Elizabeth, Ngqura and East London and finally to Richards Bay and Mossel Bay.
South Africa’s first smartPort goes live
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