Truckers renounce responsibility in autogate ‘dispute’

The battle between the Durban
container truckers and Transnet
Port Terminals (TPT) over
an anomaly in the automated
gate system (autogate) being
introduced at the SA ports has
reached a stalemate.
The complaint from the Durban
harbour carriers’ association
(DHCA), a division of the SA
Association of Freight Forwarders
(Saaff), is that one part of the
system demands that truck drivers
key in the necessary data – a task
that is beyond their skills levels,
and could incur costly liability for
trucking companies if an error is
made.
They do not object to the
concept – which is designed to
register all container movement
and vehicle data in an electronic
data interchange format, and
create a paperless environment for
container movement in and out
of the port terminals. Indeed they
support the cost-efficiency benefits
that will stem from the use of the
new system.
But, said Andrew Robinson of
Durban-based attorneys, Deneys
Reitz, and legal adviser to the
DHCA: “This new system will
require drivers to punch in a
booking reference number, the
weight of the container and the
container seal number on entering
the terminal, when delivering
export containers which have not
been pre-advised.” That could lead
to expensive mistakes.
But the issue appeared to be
a stand-off, he added. TPT is
adamant that the system will
remain unchanged.
And, although the truckers
still object to that anomalous
condition, the traffic to and from
the Pier 1 terminal – where the
pilot system is being run – has to
be kept flowing.
“So the transporters will use
the autogate,” Robinson said,
“but deny any responsibility for
wrongly entered information.”
As the issue only refers to
containers that have not been
pre-advised to the terminals,
FTW asked Kevin Martin, MD of
Freightliner Transport and vicechairman
of the Durban harbour
carriers association (DHCA)
division of the SA Association of
Freight Forwarders (Saaff), just
what proportion of boxes this was.
“At the moment,” he said, “a
fairly large percentage of cargo is
not pre-advised.”