Don’t worry about high cubes – DoT

Industry has nothing to worry about when it comes to the movement of high cube containers as no conclusive advice can be given to the Minister of Transport on the issue until the completion of a research study into the matter. This was the word from Dumisani Ntuli, acting deputy director general in the Department of Transport, when asked about the matter at a Port Consultative Committee (PCC) briefing in Cape Town recently. Industry concern over the transport of high cube containers has been escalating in light of the research not

having started as yet. With a moratorium in place exempting compliance with regulation 224(b) of the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA) until 1 January 2020, ISO containers can be moved at a height of 4.6m for the next year. Ntuli said the working group established by Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Transport, last year had undertaken to do the research and advise the minister whether to proceed with the regulation or to change it. “They are supposed to report to the minister next month,” said Ntuli. “The industry has this year’s reprieve and until

that research is undertaken and there is conclusive advice on how to proceed there should not be any concern. This process is being investigated.” It is unknown how much time such a research study would require but most industry experts said it was not feasible to expect it to be completed by the time the current moratorium ends. While some fleet owners have started to transform their trailers to move high cubes at 4.3m, the majority of the fleet in the country was not able to. This is due to the high cost of refurbishing a current trailer or purchasing a new one.