As the Port of Durban continues to limp back to productivity, shippers and service providers are questioning the port’s lack of contingency planning. “With all the advance forecasts we had on the weather we could see it would be a severe front – but there was no response from Transnet National Ports Authority to alert the port users – particularly the tenants within the port – that contingencies needed to be made,” a major shipper who preferred not to be named told FTW. “Surely there could have been a contingency in place to limit the damage and loss of life. “We’re now sitting with several cranes that are broken in the port and they won’t be back on line until the end of December.” “It highlights the fact that the procedures and maintenance of equipment in the port is not at an acceptable level,” said a senior shipping line executive. “Afterwards they come up with contingencies and tell us they’re going to speak to people about trying to find alternative equipment. That should have been done well in advance. “Ensuring your equipment is well maintained and making sure that when something happens you have a full list of suppliers who are able very quickly to provide equipment is the most basic plan of action. The port is a strategic facility and disaster recovery plans should be continually tested and reviewed. When was the last time they did a simulation? That’s the crux of the matter,” he said. The port authorities do however get full marks for their level of communication following the storm damage, with daily updates on what is happening in terms of machinery coming back on line. “It will take time before it’s fully functional – and for a port that doesn’t operate optimally at the best of times it is chaos. “Unfortunately they are now dealing with the backlog and it’s a sizeable mountain to climb. Even when they’re running under normal conditions it is stressed. They should plan for the worst eventuality but we don’t see that in their risk analysis and planning – it’s a big blind spot they have.” A bulk operator at the terminal agreed, telling FTW off the record that while its export and import operations did suffer some damage, its operations were “pretty robust”. An MD for a shipping line said he didn’t believe Transnet could have foreseen the magnitude of this disaster. “Yes, there were weather warnings but the massive storm was unexpected. Since then, Transnet’s plans and communications with stakeholders have been “exemplary” – in daily contact with all stakeholders. “However, the ongoing congestion is a real problem. Our vessels are standing in the port for five to 13 days and we’ve had to cancel sailings. This has not only cost us revenue but resulted in major port charges,” he said. This also meant his shipping line was unable to meet customer demands. He told FTW he was “extremely worried” that this would have a greater impact during the festive season which is a shipping line’s busiest time. “We have re-routed some of our vessels to Cape Town but this costs us more in port charges and it means we can’t serve our Cape Town shippers because we are dealing with Durban shippers in their port,” he said. The line also can’t redirect vessels to Ngqura as the bulk of the cargo is destined for Durban and onto Johannesburg. Economist for Grain SA, Luan van der Walt, said there had been minimal impact on their cargo. “News from SA Bulk Terminals is that there was a delay of around one day with the offloading of the grains but that was about it. During the week of the storm there was a total of 53 967 tons of wheat imported through the Durban harbour and the next week a total of 115 846 tons,” he said. Port manager at the Port of Durban Moshe Motlohi, said that while there had been “little warning of a storm of this magnitude” the port’s Business Continuity Plan provided a structured way to respond. Motlohi said the port was applying lessons learnt from the storm so that it would be even better prepared in the future.
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Cranes and other equipment were damaged in the storm. Photo: Arrive Alive
