Terry Hutson THE DURBAN container terminal's 20th new straddle carrier went into service last week, shortly after arrival from the Kalmar plant in Finland. This is slightly ahead of schedule and marks one third of the contract for 60 vehicles, which is aimed at modernising the fleet and helping improve productivity. According to terminal manager Zeph Ndlovu the 20 new machines have already made their mark, principally with improvements in availability. ÒWe are already experiencing less downtime and therefore more containers per hour are being handled. The handling graph is going steadily up,Ó he said. Ndlovu confirmed that a number of the older but serviceable straddle carriers were being relocated from Durban to East London and Port Elizabeth to help out in those ports. In East London, where at least five straddle carriers are required at any one time, the port will now have a fleet of six plus spare availability. Port Elizabeth has a standard fleet of 11 straddle carriers, and the arrival of additional machines from Durban will mean the port's fourth gantry crane can be brought into service when required.
