TRANSNET Port Terminals says that, as the peak retail season ends, the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 is gearing up for the citrus season.
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) is providing a rail link solution for its customers’ import containers to a back-of-port facility seven kilometres from the terminal, as a means of reducing the number of trucks calling at the busy Durban Container Terminal. Managing executive at the Durban Terminals, Earle Peters said, “From the onset, it has always mattered how we handle both waterside and landside traffic hence our fruitful collaboration with both shipping lines and truckers”.
Since the beginning of January, customers have been collecting their containers at the back-of-port facility with minimal waiting times and flowing roads in the vicinity, according to TPT. The back-of-port initiative is aimed at clearing terminal stacks much quicker which will in turn encourage improved vessel turnaround time with created capacity, according to Peters. He added that fewer trucks were queuing for collections at the terminal, allowing for optimum performance into the citrus season.
Preparations for citrus exports include anticipating an influx of empty refrigerated containers arriving for packing. The terminal is also optimising the 109 A empty stack to ensure punctual delivery of these containers to various packing houses.
DCT Pier 2 averaged 3896 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) per 24-hour period, in the week preceding January 18. The terminal has employed various initiatives to clear the vessel backlog which include:
- having onsite original equipment manufacturers for technical support;
- additional human resources and maintenance around the clock;
- working on public holidays;
- customer and stakeholder collaboration;
- Navis container management system optimisation experts on-site;
- as well as the execution of Transnet’s recovery plan.
Peters said, “We are in the process of scheduling customer engagements that aid our 2024 planning. There have been a lot of learnings throughout this experience, and we ought to ensure we never find ourselves in the same situation as we did in October 2023”.
TPT says that DCT Pier 2 continues to average single-digit vessels at anchor.
