Vehicle terminal achieves record handling volumes

Grain elevator geared for maize exports Leonard Neill THE VEHICLE terminal in the port of East London reached a new record last week, handling 37 containers per working hour. This was achieved in spite of wet and windy conditions. "It was possible because of better overall planning and the determination of staff to improve productivity for ships calling at the port," says combi terminal operations manager Vernon Boucher. The record was achieved moving containers on and off the vessel Ponl Kowie. At the same time the port's grain elevator has come in for some criticism regarding the level of dust created by the handling of the huge imports of maize destined for Zimbabwe and Zambia. Nearby residents brought the matter to the attention of the ports authority, which responded speedily. "We have covered the conveyor belts to eliminate the effects of dust on the surrounding community," says Eastern Cape acting general manager of South African Ports Operations (Sapo) Nosipho Damasane. "We are gearing ourselves to handle more maize now and plans are in place to reduce any additional effects of dust on the community." The elevator has a storage capacity of 76 000 tons. It currently handles 25 000 tons of maize every month destined for Zimbabwe, and is scheduled to double that monthly figure when imports for Zambia start next month.