DURBAN HARBOUR BREAKS OWN PERFORMANCE RECORD
Not even riots or a cyber attack could dampen the spirit of the staff at the Durban harbour. This is according to Transnet Port Terminals acting managing executive Kwazi Mabaso who said that the Durban Container Terminal’s Pier 1 handled a record number of containers in the year to end March.
The final number came down to 689,246 20-foot equivalent units.
It’s believed a new employee incentive scheme that was introduced towards the end of the financial year boosted performance, said Mabaso.
“Employees were also trained to operate different types of lifting equipment, and they also started to track vessel delays on the Navis container management system.”
News24 reports that the terminal, which was established in 2007, is currently operating at 98% capacity despite the impact of the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal. Following the floods, between 8,000 to 9,000 containers accumulated at the Durban port because trucks could not reach the harbour areas during the floods. Transnet has managed to gradually increase access to its Durban port terminals.
During the recent floods in the province, images and footage of containers floating around made headlines across the world.
Transnet is currently exploring the acquisition of land in the Bayhead vicinity to accommodate the overflow, Mabaso said.
Image credit: Freight Waves