Vessels are increasingly bypassing South African ports as the lockdown in the country continues to keep its harbours operating at low capacity.
According to stakeholders of the Cape’s Port Liaison Forum (PLF), container vessels are waiting an average of five days to berth at the Port of Cape Town, while the dealys in Durban are at least six days iat present.
This has seen vessels bypassing South Africa in favour of ports such as Walvis Bay where there is minimal waiting time to berth.
According to Mike Walwyn, while the ports have upped capacity and are functioning at a higher level than at the beginning of the lockdown, operations are still slow due to the limited capacity.
“Shipping lines are under huge financial strain as well and are shuffling their schedules to keep vessels moving,” he said. “We already know of at least two vessels bypassing Cape Town this week.”
The Saecs consortium has introduced a ninth vessel into its service due to the delays being experienced in South Africa. “But all that does is add more cost to the exercise.”
It remains a double-edged sword for the country which has acted with extreme caution to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Ports are operating under strict government guidelines and are not able to increase capacity unless they adhere to government regulations
