Cape Town’s container terminal has landed at the bottom of a major global ranking, highlighting ongoing concerns about delays, infrastructure challenges and the growing cost of inefficiencies for businesses that depend on the city’s maritime gateway.
The latest Container Port Performance Index (CPPI), compiled by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, placed the Port of Cape Town 400th out of 400 ports assessed worldwide for 2025.
The ranking measures vessel turnaround times and operational efficiency using actual ship movement data rather than self-reported performance indicators.
As highlighted by Daily Investor, the World Bank identified Cape Town as a notable example of how infrastructure deterioration, weather-related disruptions and operational bottlenecks can combine to undermine port performance, even during periods when global supply chain pressures have eased.
The findings arrive at a time when Cape Town’s port remains a critical export hub for the Western Cape’s agriculture sector, particularly during peak fruit-export seasons.
While Cape Town slid to the bottom of the rankings, Durban emerged as one of the year’s biggest success stories.
Reporting on the latest index, NovaNews noted that Durban recorded the strongest improvement of any port assessed globally, improving its score by 479 points while reducing vessel waiting times from around 20 ships to virtually none.
The improvement follows a series of operational reforms and infrastructure interventions, alongside a long-term partnership aimed at increasing container-handling capacity and improving efficiency standards.
The World Bank’s report also highlighted notable gains at the Eastern Cape’s Ngqura and Port Elizabeth ports, which ranked among the world’s top-performing improvers.
For Cape Town, however, operational difficulties continue to carry significant economic consequences.
Industry bodies have repeatedly warned that congestion, equipment failures and weather-related stoppages place additional pressure on exporters.
The fruit sector has been among the hardest hit, with delays affecting supply chains and increasing storage and transport costs.
The World Bank’s data further revealed that vessels spent only 56% of their time at berth in Cape Town, with the remainder lost to waiting periods and operational delays.
By comparison, Durban recorded significant gains in productive berth utilisation.
Officials and industry leaders have pointed to several ongoing interventions designed to improve resilience at the port.
These include predictive weather modelling and measures aimed at improving vessel access during adverse sea conditions.
Plans are also underway to expand capacity at Cape Town’s container terminal, although analysts have cautioned that infrastructure upgrades alone may not solve.
Be the first to know – Join our WhatsApp Channel for content worth tapping into! Click here to join!
Also read:
International growth fuels R24.5 billion in visitor spending in Cape Town
Picture: Getty Images
