The South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents (Saasoa) has issued a plea for a major injection of new equipment across all South African ports as a result of ships being rerouted away from the country due to severe port congestion.
As per IOL, this situation has had a detrimental impact on businesses and has been causing economic setbacks.
Saasoa’s call to action comes shortly after Transnet, the state-owned logistics firm, disclosed a staggering loss of R5.7 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2023, which represents a significant decline from the R5 billion profit recorded the previous year.
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Peter Besnard, the CEO of Saasoa, which represents the maritime interests of its members in South Africa, pointed out that adverse weather conditions along the coast have been obstructing the unloading and loading of vessels in the ports.
‘This, together with equipment breakdowns for tugs, pilot boats, helicopters, ship-to-shore gantry cranes, straddle carriers and rubber tyre gantries and the availability of spares, have all contributed to the slow productivity and working of vessels,’ explained Besnard.
Recently, ACDC Dynamics, a manufacturer, importer and distributor of electrical, electronics, pumps and tool products, warned its clients about delays in shipments and port congestion. This disruption was attributed to a typhoon in China, departure delays, congestion at the Durban port, docking delays and incidents of looting in Cape Town, which resulted in containers destined for Cape Town being redirected to Durban.
Consequently, many vessels were rerouted through other countries before arriving in South Africa for unloading. ACDC Dynamics informed its customers that certain containers would be delayed by one to three weeks, affecting the estimated time of arrivals (ETAs). The company’s management reportedly issued an apology for the unforeseen circumstances.
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Saasoa emphasised that this predicament has been a daily topic of discussion during morning port meetings, but there are no quick-fix solutions readily available.
Despite attempts to obtain a comment from Transnet, they had not responded to IOL at the time of publication; however, earlier this month, Transnet acknowledged that operations were continuing at the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2, despite facing challenges related to the declining availability of straddle carriers over the past three weeks.
These challenges were primarily attributed to the unavailability of critical spare parts. To address this situation on an interim basis while awaiting the arrival of a new fleet, TPT (Transnet Port Terminals) was considering leasing equipment from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), even if the equipment was second-hand.
Lulamile Mtetweni, the terminal manager at Durban Container Terminals, noted that their supply chain management team was actively engaged in sourcing straddle carriers and ship-to-shore cranes for leasing during the next 12 months while DCT Pier 2 awaited the arrival of its new fleet. The new acquisitions included four ship-to-shore cranes, 35 straddle carriers and 63 hauliers.
To address the equipment challenges at the terminal more sustainably, TPT announced plans to approach the market for bids from OEMs to supply spare parts across all its terminals over a seven-year period. The tender was scheduled to close later this month, with the awarding of contracts planned for the following month. DCT Pier 2 was among the terminals set to benefit from this initiative. Bidders were expected to submit proposals specifying details such as demand and supply timelines for spare parts for the existing fleet across all 16 of the company’s sea cargo terminals.
Last month, Transnet announced the selection of an equity partner, the Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc., to collaborate in the development and enhancement of DCT Pier 2. This 25-year joint venture with TPT is aimed at improving logistics associated with servicing South Africa and boosting regional exports and imports.
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