Working late should bolster performance.
If port authorities are to be believed we can expect more bang for our bucks in the Port of Cape Town.
Cape Town Port nighttime utilisation will increase from its current level of between 3-5% to between 10-12%, according to CT Port Captain Rajesh Dana. This is one of several measures aimed at improving overall performance. “This (increased nighttime utilisation) improves efficiency of the Port and flattens the peaks we experienced in terms of cargo volumes,” Dana said at the most recent Port roundtable discussion earlier this month.
Dana said TNPA’s new operating model was being implemented with great success. The roll-out was based on two fundamental principles: 1) going back to basics; 2) a cultural change and ‘revolution’ with the Port. “We in the Port of Cape Town have truly embraced the opportunity of reinventing our future,” Dana said, adding that current efforts were a collaboration with the broader Port community.
Collaboration within the Port ecosystem have also earned praise from Mireille Wenger, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities, who visited the Port in late May following a damning international report which ranked Cape Town 365th out 370 ports measured by the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index report 2021.
“I was encouraged by the spirit of collaboration that I experienced,” Wenger said of her visit. “This collaboration, which must include all levels of government, Transnet, and importantly, the private sector as a partner, will be essential to improve the Port’s performance,” she said in a statement issued after her Port tour. “I am determined to ensure that this happens so that we can all play a part in ensuring a world-class Port that grows the economy and creates jobs.”
“That is why the Western Cape Government has already appointed a project manager in our Department of Economic Development and Tourism to work with all stakeholders in addressing some immediate challenges, and I am informed that we have been met by a willingness to cooperate and share information and ideas on how we can improve port efficiency,” Wenger said.
She said notable upgrades and improved efficiencies over the past six months include:
- The addition of the Liebherr 600 mobile harbour crane to the equipment fleet at the Multi-Purpose Terminal in December 2021, which got the Multi-Purpose Terminal back online;
- The installation of the hydraulic shore tensioning system in April 2022 in one berth at Cape Town Container Terminal to reduce delays caused by ranging (ship movements caused by wave surges);
- The activation of one additional berth;
- The re-introduction of operator incentives in April in 2022, resulting in improved performance; and
The terminal will no longer close on public holidays, except for Workers Day, which will increase the Port’s capacity.