Tidal surging cuts CT's port productivity

Productivity at the Port of Cape Town’s container terminal has been holding its own despite problems during the winter months with tidal surging. The terminal has managed to improve its gantry crane moves per hour significantly over the past few years and averages around 34 moves per hour, according to statistics revealed to FTW. But this decreased slightly in the past month to around 32 moves per hour due to surging, a Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) spokesman said. He said surging was a general occurrence during the winter months when the northwest wind blew strongly. Typically it impacts on operations as it causes movement of the berthed vessels, making crane operation difficult. Mike Walwyn, chairman of the forum, said the port had made major inroads in dealing with wind but said little could be done in this case.