Photo: Lucille Botha
Ngqura (Coega) fell from 340 to 404, Durban from 343 to 398, and Gqeberha from 291 to 391. South Africa was outperformed by ports in neighbouring countries, with Maputo in Mozambique ranking 325th and Walvis Bay in Namibia ranking 380th.
READ The Container Port Performance Index 2023
Chris Knoetze, managing director of Link Supply Chain Management, a logistics company co-owned by Tru-Cape, said in a statement that recent staff changes at Transnet and the activation of the terminal recovery plan over the past six to eight months were having an effect.
Improvements at the Port of Cape Town, specifically, included the addition of seven second-hand rubber-tyred gantries, new engines for the gantries, an increase in truck capacity from 38 to 45, negotiations with original equipment manufacturers for repairs and maintenance, and the implementation of a technical team to attend to broken equipment.
Transnet was focusing on the right things but it would be another six to 12 months before productivity increased, he added.
The South African fruit industry faced stiff competition from Chile, whose main exporting ports, San Antonio and Valparaiso, both improved their positions on the index, up from 253rd place to 110th and from 188th position to 151st, respectively.
“This is worrisome, as productive ports attract more vessels, leading to increased shipping capacity, possibly lower shipping fees, and more shipping options. It also ensures a constant flow of products to the market.
“To improve our international competitiveness, it is crucial to sort out the crisis at our ports.”
Roelf Pienaar, managing director of Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, says gross crane moves per crane hour should be applied as a productivity measure to determine whether there is real improvement.
“Measuring the average number of completed container movements per hour is the only way to know if things are improving at the Port of Cape Town, as it influences the turnaround time for both trucks and ships.
“For the past three months, this figure has remained stagnant at only about 40% of what was achieved in 2011. While we recognise the improvements at the port, we remain concerned about productivity not increasing.”
Knoetze said it might be better some weeks but consistency was needed.
