Durban’s vessel port call time reached its second-highest level in more than two years while anchorage waits at Richards Bay rose sharply, according to Crickmay’s latest RSA Corridor Pulse Report.
The report, covering September 28 to October 4, states that Durban’s port call time remained above seven days for a fifth consecutive week and recorded its second-highest reading in 114 weeks.
At Richards Bay, vessel anchorage time increased by 47% week on week to nearly six days, which the report describes as the longest wait in months.
The two indicators measure different stages of a vessel’s visit. Durban’s total port call time covers the period from arrival at anchorage until departure from the berth. The Richards Bay figure measures time spent at anchorage.
The report identifies the two ports as the main sources of pressure on their respective corridors despite improved road performance.
The N3 Johannesburg-Durban corridor recorded its best road performance in more than a month with road conditions and incident counts described as calm. Nevertheless, prolonged vessel port calls in Durban kept the corridor on the report’s “watch” status.
The N2 Ermelo-Richards Bay corridor was classified as “at risk” because of the increase in anchorage time even though its road indicators were relatively favourable.
Crickmay advises operators to confirm berth slots and allow additional scheduling buffers for Richards Bay while also making provision for lengthy vessel calls in Durban.
Four of the eight corridors assessed carried either a “watch” or “at risk” status during the week. Beyond KwaZulu-Natal, truck dwell time within Maputo’s port precinct kept the N4 Pretoria-Maputo corridor on “watch”.
The Kuruman-Saldanha corridor remained “at risk” with year-to-date road transit time approximately 44% above the comparable 2025 level, according to the report.
There were improvements at several border crossings. According to the report, pressure at Martins Drift and Pioneer Gate eased while the typical Beitbridge crossing time declined to about 21 hours.
