Last Thursday, in blustery weather, as sail ropes tapped away against tilting masts, a diverse assembly of stakeholders from the shipping and related services industry holed up against a strong south-easterly wind in one of the Royal Cape Yacht Club’s charter rooms.
Not since 2019 had Freight News, then still officially known as Freight & Trading Weekly, held a Thirsty’s social in the Mother City, and the patrons made sure they made up for lost time.
Folks from the liner trade, landside support logistics, the ports themselves, customs, and cargo clearing all gathered for one of the most cherished gatherings on the social calendar of southern Africa’s freight industry.
Transnet sent through a strong contingent of executives, including acting port manager Ophelia Shabane, and the private sector was represented by some of the most respected executives from the supply chain sector.
One only had to look at the various brands represented at Thirsty’s to grasp how popular an event it is: Chapman Freeborn Global Air Charters, CtrlFleet, Afrigo Global Logistics, AGL Group, Pindulo VDM, Armscor, Lee Botti & Associates, Stacks Africa, SACO, SA Cargo, Table Bay Cold Storage, Turners Shipping, Freitan Logistics, and EasyClear – to name only a few.
This time around, editorial contributors who regularly add insight to Freight News’ coverage were also well represented.
Basil Hanival of the South African Association of Freight Forwarders stayed until late, and so did Derick Ongansie of the South African Transporters Alliance.
“What a great social,” Ongansie said.
“It was really nice to spend some time with so many people from the industry.”
Regular Freight News contributor from Berry & Donaldson, Clifford Evans, agreed:
“These socials are always nice. With Covid’s nonsense now well and truly a thing of the past, I hope we get to do it far more often.”
Freight News Features Editor Liesl Venter, who is based in Cape Town, echoed Evans’ sentiments.
“Thirsty’s has always been a fantastic platform for the industry to engage informally, share insights, and strengthen relationships. Seeing such a strong turnout after a long hiatus shows just how much this event means to the freight and logistics community.”
