Congestion chaos continues

Despite promises from
Transnet Port Terminals
(TPT) that the new Navis
port management system at
the Port of Durban’s Pier 2
(Durban container terminal as
was) would accelerate vessel
turnaround and container
landside movement to near the
speed of light, the lights have
gone off.
Shipping line and truck
company executives have
described the performance
levels at the terminal as
“atrocious”, and blamed it
on a combination of the nonperformance
of Navis to date,
and equally under-performing
productivity levels.
“It’s a sick joke,” said Kevin
Martin, MD of Freightliner
Transport and chairman of
the Durban Harbour Carriers
Committee (DHCA). “We hear
stories that they (TPT) have
sent 10 straddle carriers down
to Port Elizabeth, but that
they’ll be getting 20 new ones
in about a month or two.
“But that’s no excuse for
the miserable performance at
the moment. In fact, there’s a
business truism: There is no
excuse in business.”
Paul Rayner, MD of DTB
Transport, another short-haul
container transporter, was
equally disturbed when FTW
talked to him last week.
“There are potential delays
at most of the towers each
day at Pier 1 and 2,” he said.
“Ships are stacking up outside
again. Ten ships outside today,
waiting to get into Pier 2.
“And yesterday, TPT only
managed 1 800 gate moves.
A year ago they were doing
3 000+ on a fairly regular
basis, but now they are
peaking at only 2 500 a day.”
And the peak season hasn’t
really started yet, according
to Rayner. “We’re obviously
waiting for that with some
trepidation,” he added.
The poor performance
at Pier 2 is now attracting
worldwide attention, according
to Peter Newton, MD of Capebased
fruit export specialists,
Seaborne and an authoritative
commentator on SA port
affairs.
“It does not appear to be
improving,” he said. “On the
contrary, vessel dispatch,
not to mention container
movements in-and-out of
the terminal, seems to be
deteriorating - with signs of
crisis management becoming
panic management.”
The queues of vehicles
collecting containers at the
Durban container terminal are
reported to be “enormous”,
said a statement issued last
week to FTW by major SA
forwarder, Safcor Panalpina.
“Waiting times for trucks
collecting containers are up
to 15-hours. TPT this week
asked hauliers not to send
any further vehicles into the
harbour, but didn’t specify
the causes of the delays being
experienced.
“At present 13 ships are awaiting berths and a further
29 are expected to arrive off
the port in the next eight days.
This will impact on deliveries
to clients and will extend
total transit times for import
cargoes.”
Commenting on this
statement, Newton said:
“From a distance it is difficult
to pinpoint the cause, which
could embrace a number of
factors.
“But two of these would
definitely appear to be:
The April 1 introduction at
Pier 2 of Navis; and a shortage
of serviceable straddle carriers.
In the meantime ‘vasbyt’ as we
are constantly urged to do.”
Shipping line executives
are also irate.
“I don’t know if weather
has been an added factor,
but today’s daily report from
Transnet National Ports
Authority (TNPA) shows that
Pier 1 has a 24-hour to 36-hr
delay – but Pier 2 is 4-6 days,”
said Iain McIntosh, marketing
manager of Mitsui OSK Line
(MOL).
An anonymous executive
was equally irritated. “At Pier
2, Navis is a headache,” he told
FTW. “It’s very slow.”
Said Glenn Delve, marketing
director for Mediterranean
Shipping Company (MSC): “In
berthing there are congestion
issues. Our ships are delayed
up to 10-days for the smaller
vessels.
“We keep records of every
vessel loading/unloading, and
compare it with what TPT
say it should be. Basically,
from this, we note that
productivity is down, and there
is congestion.
“There is, therefore, a
worry for us about dwell time,
although we’re not bypassing
– yet.”