Vessels diverted ahead of CT expansion project

THE first vessels have been diverted from Cape Town container terminal to the adjacent multi-purpose terminal in anticipation of the start of a R4.2 billion Transnet expansion project to ultimately double stacking capacity to 1.4 million teus a year. This first step, deepening berth draft from the current 14m to 15.5 m to allow for bigger containerships, gets under way some time in December, beginning with Berth 601, the remaining three (02, 03 and 04) to follow progressively over the next four years. As reported by FTW (November 2), Danish subcontractor, Rhode Nielsen, will move some 1.23 million cubes of sand, clay and rock for dumping off the Atlantic Seaboard. In his first detailed interview since the new initiatives were spelt out in October, Oscar Borchards, Transnet Port Terminals’ business unit manager, tells FTW two vessels have been moved to multi-purpose terminal berths E and F in recent weeks, more to follow in due course. These are smaller ships, around the 1 000 teu mark, and able to accommodate the mpt draft of around 11m. Turning to berthing delays, often exacerbated by inclement weather off the Mother City port and around the coastline, Borchards says it currently stands at 14 hours on average. “Despite some bad weather last month, we were fortunate, in terms of wind delays, to have at least two or three vessel calls a day.”