Web-based tool measures wind speeds at ports

As wind-related delays continue to challenge SA’s ports, Transnet Port Terminals is set to install a web-based tool that will measure wind speeds and share the information across the port systems. “We will also share the information gathered from this with our customers in an effort to help people understand exactly how heavy winds can be,” a spokesman for Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) told the Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLF) last week. Special devices are being connected to ship-to-shore cranes at the ports which allow port authorities to monitor wind speeds at all the harbours in the country using the web-based tool. Mike Walwyn, chairman of the PLF, welcomed the move saying it would go a long way in alleviating misconceptions about wind. “It does not help the situation when people look out of their windows and say the wind is hardly blowing. The Cape Town port for example has specific areas that are probably the windiest spots in the city. Wind is localised and because it is not blowing in one location does not mean it’s the same at the port,” he said. “This tool will definitely be helpful as it will give port users insight into the wind speeds being recorded.”