TPT sued for incompetence

A court case due to be held in
the Durban Regional Court
this week could, if the plaintiff
is successful, set a court
precedent that will put the
inefficiency of Transnet Port
Terminals (TPT) right in the
firing line.
Abnormal load specialists,
Project Logistics Management
(PLM), is suing TPT for
costs incurred “due to nonperformance
involving port
operations”.
It is alleged there was a
failure by TPT to load vehicles
timeously, and the fact they
had to stand overnight meant
they incurred demurrage.
It would appear that the
amount involved is not a
massive sum, but at stake is
the principle behind the case
– where TPT in the past has
always escaped any penalty for
its incompetence.
It has been a litany of sins in
the past few years.
Quoting from Port
Consultative Committee (PCC)
minutes, there was a basic
complaint. “With everything
done in the port and all the
monies spent over the last
few years, the efficiency of the
terminal has not improved. In
fact, from a user perspective, it
has gone backwards.”
Translated into vehicle
utilisation, this lack of
efficiency means that
transporters often have to
stand waiting for a container
or other cargo to be
loaded for periods
of 12 to
18 hours (and
sometimes even more).
Shipping line and
truck company executives
have over the years described
the performance levels at
the terminal as “atrocious”,
blaming it on a combination
of the non-performance of the
TPT Navis port management
system and equally underperforming
productivity levels.
This inefficiency has led to
many companies failing.
A headline case in recent
times was in March 2012.
That was when Durban’s
oldest port cartage company
decided to shut shop. It had
been battered into submission
by years of inefficient
performance by TPT, Paul
Rayner, MD and owner of the
109-year-old family company,
DTB Cartage, told FTW at
the time.
But this TPT sin may be
about to turn around and bite
it on the shins.
If the case is
successful for
the plaintiff,
then the
doors will
be open
for any
company
adversely
affected by
TPT’s lack of
productivity to invoice them
for the costs incurred.