Port of Durban picks up the pieces after storm damage

Storm damage in KwaZuluNatal severely affected the Durban port and Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) operations last week, leading to delays in movement of vessels and trucks through the harbour. Several rubber tyre gantry cranes were out of commission while wood and

plastic debris that washed down into the sea from flooded rivers posed a threat to vessel movement.  TFR operations were also hampered when flood debris obstructed some sections of the Natal Corridor line. According to stakeholders the port was still not fully operational by Friday despite

assurances from Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) that operations had gone “back to normal” on Wednesday. Durban transporter Kevin Martin said only five to six of the port’s 16 cranes were operating following the storm last week, after heavy rains apparently caused water damage to

electrical components of the machinery. According to Martin, by Wednesday only six cranes were operating at Durban Container Terminal’s Pier 1 meaning capacity was 66% down, while operations had also been hampered at Pier 2. “Everything is just

working so much slower because quite a bit of damage has been done; not that things got blown over and fell into the water but there is no way electrical problems on machines can be fixed in 24 hours. Everything has to be stripped and dried to find the fault,” he said. “Whoever is telling you the harbour is back to normal is talking absolute nonsense. They are working as hard as they can to rectify the bad weather problems that arose which is not Transnet’s fault,” Martin said. Durban Harbour Carriers chairperson Sue Moodley said on Friday that the association was unsure exactly how many cranes had been damaged, however the port was not yet running at full capacity. “They were having equipment challenges prior to the storm, but the storm merely exacerbated the situation. The result has been that the truck turnaround times have been minimal. The damage suffered after the floods has impacted on the waterside in that vessels are unable to enter or exit the port,” Moodley said. She added that both Piers 1 & 2 had not worked last Tuesday. Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) said in a statement that it had commenced a major clean-up to remove a large volume of storm water debris, including large logs which posed a

threat to the navigation of harbour craft used to guide vessels around the port. Acting Durban Port Manager, Nokuzola Nkowane, said all Transnet operating divisions were carrying out assessments to establish the full extent of the storm damage.  She said the port’s pollution control teams were

on site tackling the debris within port waters, aided by clean-up teams from SpillTech, Drizit and ZMK Enterprises. She said progress was slow due to the volume of material still washing into the harbour. However, she also said that the port had been fully operational, although

the ingress of waste had  impacted vessel movements and as of midday on Wednesday three vessels had been unable to berth or sail in the Maydon Wharf precinct. “The combined catchment area of the rivers, canals and storm-water drainage systems that drain into the port is over 200 square kilometres in size. The

unfortunate reality is the port waters are on the receiving end of the large volume of litter, effluent and sewage that is discharged into the stormwater reticulation system within the catchment,” said Nkowane.  She said TNPA had been engaging with the eThekwini Municipality regarding solutions to address the ingress of waste and effluent into the port from the municipal stormwater network, which drains a significant portion of the Durban metropolitan area. Responding to queries from FTW about the impact on its operations last week, TPT spokesperson Molatwane Likhethe said work was been “back to normal” by Wednesday morning.  “Following Transnet Port Terminals’ activation of its disaster management plan after the heavy rains, operations resumed on Tuesday afternoon and we were back to normal by Wednesday morning. In terms of terminal equipment, the five cranes that were impacted by the rain have been restored and the terminal is currently operating at the same levels as before the storm.”