Vicious Cape Doctor takes full blame for December delays

RAY SMUTS TABLE BAY resembled a mini-Dunkirk last month, with some vessels experiencing berthing delays of well in excess of 100 hours, while the holiday fuel shortage fiasco almost brought the deciduous fruit industry to its knees at the start of the export season. Up to 14 ships at anchor at any given time – container vessels, specialised reefer ships ready to load fruit for overseas markets, bulk carriers, tankers, even a liquid petroleum carrier – became a familiar sight as the Cape Peninsula was sandblasted by vicious south-easterly winds which had liner operators and holidaymakers alike gritting their teeth in frustration. Oscar Borchards, business unit manager at the Mother City container terminal, places the blame for the berthing delays fairly and squarely on the elements. “In total 135 hours were lost due to wind in December and 36 for the first seven days of January. We lost about 20 hours per vessel due to wind during December,” says Borchards. One of the six cranes in the container terminal was out but five gangs worked vessels, even on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day (as was the case last year), while National Ports Authority’s maritime services maintained the same work schedule. Some of the vessels worst affected by berthing delays were Safmarine Agulhas (135.75 hours) Master 1 (122.75 hours), MSC Florida (116.42 hours) Nicholas (111.5 hours) and Cape Town Bridge (106.5 hours), reads the terminal’s daily vessel report of January 6. According to statistics compiled for FTW by chief harbour master Captain Eddie Bremner and Captain Karl Otto, VTS manager, even though the container terminal was extremely busy during the holiday season, the actual number of calling container ships dropped from as many as 90 in December, 2002, to 50 in December, last year, due to larger ships carrying greater loads. Gross tonnages in December, 2002 were 9.25 million, declining to 6.51 million in December, 2005 while the number of bunker vessels calling at Cape Town were down to just 25 last December compared to 105 in December, 2001.