Yard conditions at Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT) have started to improve although vessel delays and pressure on reefer capacity remain elevated, according to the latest Cargo Movement Update authored by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) and distributed by Business Unity South Africa.
The report says overall stack occupancy declined from 89.2% on August 25 to 73.8% on August 27 while the number of road import containers on hand fell from 6 171 to 5 750.
DGT reportedly completed 1 811 gate moves during the latest 24-hour reporting period, including 1 405 import movements. According to the report, the terminal has been prioritising the evacuation of imports to create additional yard capacity.
However, SAAFF says the recovery remains uneven with reefer stack occupancy still at 110%.
Vessel delays also remain elevated with 10 vessels waiting at anchorage on Wednesday morning, August 26, seven of which were destined for DGT. By Thursday morning, August 27, four vessels were working alongside the terminal while nine remained at anchorage.
The report says DGT advised that its Navis N4 operating system was stable and that immediate focus shifted to clearing the backlog, improving equipment availability and restoring fluidity between waterside operations, the yard and landside evacuation.
SAAFF says DGT, Transnet, shipping lines and other logistics stakeholders are participating in the recovery effort. Shipping lines are adjusting vessel schedules, rotations and cargo flows to provide additional operating capacity.
Sustained operational discipline will be required for the terminal to return to stable and sustainable cargo flows, adds SAAFF.
