Alan Peat
THERE'S A shortage of rail trucks to handle the bulk goods traffic through the Port of Durban, according to Philip de Haaff, chairman of ASABOSA (Association of Ships Operators and Brokers of SA).
I don't know why there is such a shortage, he said. They (Spoornet) say there isn't. But all I can tell you is that there's not enough to manage the flow adequately.
ASABOSA is currently addressing this matter, an issue which disturbs the end productivity in the logistics chain for bulk products, De Haaff added.
The association has assembled statistics - specifically for the bulk appliances on the Bluff - of the delays caused by shortage of trucks last November and December. This analysis is currently being forwarded via the Durban Chamber of Commerce to the relevant Spoornet management.
The issue has also been tabled at the port liaison committee for review, De Haaff told FTW.
Another of the association's concerns is the proposed restructuring of Durban harbour, with a considerable extension to the container terminal, and a re-siting of the combi-terminal to the Point being the main developments in the plan.
Not that ASABOSA doesn't welcome the multi-billion programme, according to De Haaff, which will up Durban's annual container capacity to the 1.5-million TEU (twenty foot equivalent unit) level.
But the development is going to mean lots of temporary close-downs of quayside berths, and other areas and facilities, he added, and the whole sequence of events is going to have to be carefully controlled and monitored if cargo handling flow is not to be thrown badly out of gear.
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