Port of Cape Town will need to tighten its belt

Stretching the rand further to ensure
maximum spend is the rather
unpleasant prospect for Transnet
as it girds its loins for a tough year ahead.
The Transnet board’s approved budget
for the coming financial year (April 2009
to March 2010) was not available at the
time of writing but NPA Mother City
port manager, Sanjay Govan, is under no
illusion it’s going to reflect extreme belttightening
procedures.
“Even though we do not have the final
figures, Cape Town’s exports have been
dropping week by week, to around 20%
since November, in some instances either
halting or continuing only by virtue of
existing contracts. Our expectation is that
port turnover will be down at least 10% in
the coming year.”
Govan reflects on Asia’s economic
woes, which have had a knock-on effect
on many other economies. Finance
minister Trevor Manuel has even more
grim news – China’s exports down
17% in January and imports declining a
worrisome 43%, while Japan’s economy
has shrunk 3.3% over the past three
months as it turned in the worst export
performance since 1974.
The container terminal is in the midst
of a R4.2 billion expansion programme
to cater for bigger ships while container
space will more than doubled to 1.4
million teus a year by 2012. This remains
the port’s largest income contributor,
along with bulk cargo, bunkers and ship
repair, but Govan chooses not to dwell on
the precise financial performance of each.
“There is not much we can do about
the crisis. We, as Transnet, are really
gateways to the economy – and we need
to ensure that we spend every single
rand wisely.”
Economic decline notwithstanding, he
nevertheless remains reasonably sanguine
about Cape Town, saying: “The beauty
about the port is that infrastructural
projects continue without interruption,
even though delivery timelines may
be slower.”
As to his assessment of the port in
terms of condition and operations, he
says: “We have good plans in place. Our
security system is nearing completion and
the port’s entire sewerage system has been
upgraded, so we are in pretty
good shape.”
The NPA’s marine services division
tends to come in for a drubbing from the
shipping sector from time to time, a recent
case in point the decision by the harbour
master, Captain Ravi Naicker, not to berth
the giant containership MSC Lisbon
after nightfall.
It would seem, as Naicker observes, it
is well nigh impossible to be all things to
all men. A compliment one day might turn
into the opposite the next.
Vessel calls (all types) for the port of
Cape Town remain at 250-260 a month
and Naicker doesn’t anticipate major
spend on equipment,
The port’s four tugs – Ntseleni and
Palmiet (both ex-Durban), Merlot and
Pinotage – are good for another 20-odd
years but the pair of pilot boats will have
to be replaced at a cost of some R20m
over the next two years. The port’s two
work boats and two launches are in good
condition.
The talk turns to one of Cape Town’s
major drawbacks, those dreaded winds
which so easily cause mayhem to vessel
schedule integrity. Govan and Naicker
concur that wind is “a way of life” in the
Mother City – take it or leave it.