TPT invests millions to train RTG operators

“Driving” Cape Town Container
Terminal’s new rubber-tyre
gantry cranes is more than a
walk through the container yard,
requiring sure hands and an
agile mind.
Transnet Port Terminals is
ensuring such qualities are not
in short supply by installing
simulators costing R8 million
each at Cape Town, Durban and
Coega. The aim is ultimately to
train 126 operators.
Instructor Richard Pretorius
makes clear a lot more is
involved than merely lifting
boxes up and down. The big
challenge is to move them
without the lifting cables moving
or swinging, which could lead to
damage or even accidents.
The simulators are able to
create all kinds of conditions to
expose students to the different
challenges, including fog, wind,
rain, and snow, and in the case of
shore to ship transfer, taking into
consideration a ship’s movement
in ocean swells.
Rails have been replaced
by special satellite navigation
to ensure the RTGs move in a
straight line at all times.