Operating on 45-50 hour delay last week Terry Hutson STRONG WINDS are playing havoc with operations at the Durban Container Terminal, resulting in 79 hours of downtime for the month of August. The unusually strong winds caused the terminal to stop operations on nine separate occasions during the month after winds exceeded the safe level for normal working. Adding to the woes of shippers, the port itself was forced to close on several occasions because of adverse weather or sea conditions. As a result the terminal operated last week on an average delay of between 45 and 50 hours. Ton Bestenbreur, terminal manager, said it would take between one and two weeks to catch up with the backlog. “Our guys are doing everything possible,” he said. “Although the wind delays are beyond our control, we regret any delays that are being experienced and we are doing everything we can to keep up productivity and reduce delays as fast as possible,” said Themba Gwala, SA Port Operations general manager Durban. Gwala said that a wind procedure was in place at the Durban Container Terminal, which was strictly adhered to on safety grounds. The gantry cranes are programmed to warn the operator by means of a flashing light when the wind reaches a speed of 70 km/h, at which time the crane operator is required to perform his task of loading and unloading containers more carefully than under low wind conditions. The warning light stays on but when a wind speed of 80 km/h is reached a buzzer sounds, with the cranes moving automatically into a stow position. The wind will be monitored half hourly, but work commences only once the wind has dropped to a consistent level of below 80 km/h. The high winds experienced during August this year are abnormal for Durban with the city’s ‘windy months’ usually being late September and October into November. Unfortunately this coincides with the container terminal’s traditional busy period when peak volumes are normally achieved.
