Cargo bottlenecks at Cape Town port are a headache for exporters and importers alike, not helped by the Cape’s notorious wind.
New rubber-tyred gantry cranes may be able to fix that, especially as they can reportedly operate in 90 kmp/h wind.
TNPA this month confirmed the Cape Town arrival of components for the first nine of 28 new rubber-tyred gantry cranes. It’s a major step towards improving port efficiency and cargo flows, with obvious benefits for the entire regional economy including marine manufacturing. “The rubber-tyred gantry cranes we currently have operate at up to 72 kmp/hour under windy conditions. So, the new ones (which can operate in 90 kmp/h wind) give us huge opportunity to enhance our efficiencies,” Western Cape Terminals Managing Executive Oscar Borchards said in a press release.
“Rubber-tyred gantry cranes are used mainly as stacking equipment and for moving containers between the stack and the ship-to-shore cranes,” the release said.
The next nine cranes are expected at the Cape Town Container Terminal in November 2025, AND the final 10 in June 2026.