Truckers renounce responsibility in autogate ‘dispute’

The battle between the Durban container truckers and Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) over an anomaly in the automated gate system (autogate) being introduced at the SA ports has reached a stalemate. The complaint from the Durban harbour carriers’ association (DHCA), a division of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), is that one part of the system demands that truck drivers key in the necessary data – a task that is beyond their skills levels, and could incur costly liability for trucking companies if an error is made. They do not object to the concept – which is designed to register all container movement and vehicle data in an electronic data interchange format, and create a paperless environment for container movement in and out of the port terminals. Indeed they support the cost-efficiency benefits that will stem from the use of the new system. But, said Andrew Robinson of Durban-based attorneys, Deneys Reitz, and legal adviser to the DHCA: “This new system will require drivers to punch in a booking reference number, the weight of the container and the container seal number on entering the terminal, when delivering export containers which have not been pre-advised.” That could lead to expensive mistakes. But the issue appeared to be a stand-off, he added. TPT is adamant that the system will remain unchanged. And, although the truckers still object to that anomalous condition, the traffic to and from the Pier 1 terminal – where the pilot system is being run – has to be kept flowing. “So the transporters will use the autogate,” Robinson said, “but deny any responsibility for wrongly entered information.” As the issue only refers to containers that have not been pre-advised to the terminals, FTW asked Kevin Martin, MD of Freightliner Transport and vicechairman of the Durban harbour carriers association (DHCA) division of the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), just what proportion of boxes this was. “At the moment,” he said, “a fairly large percentage of cargo is not pre-advised.”