By Larry Claasen
NEW Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen says he has made decongesting the Port of Cape Town “one of his top priorities.”
The Port of Cape Town has come in for sharp criticism for its level of congestion in the past year. Exporters in the Western Cape have blamed Transnet’s inability to provide adequate services for billions of rands of losses at the port, which handles the bulk of the country’s agricultural exports.
For example, Capespan said in March that during this year’s harvesting season, between 14 and 17-million cartons of grapes were stuck either in cold depots or in stack, waiting to be shipped.
“Due to a backlog created by wind delays and port inefficiencies in Cape Town, producers and exporters targeted a vessel that called on the Port Elizabeth port. The fruit was always destined to wait 10 to 14 days to load, but then that vessel got delayed by a further two weeks. These were the oldest grapes to have left South African shores for Europe this season,” said Herman Redelinghuys, product manager: grapes at Capespan.
The problems at the port saw it rank last out of the 405 surveyed in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index 2023. This performance is worse than its 2022 ranking, which saw it come 344 out of the 348. The World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index measures the time container ships spend in port.
The government and Transnet have both said turning around the performance of the country’s port was a priority, and is broadly seen as key to driving economic growth.
Steenhuisen has called on greater cooperation around the ports. In this regard he said he will engage with his cabinet colleague, the minister of transport, which covers the essential road and rail routes farmers require to get their goods to local and international markets.
He has been briefed by his department regarding the performance of the Port of Cape Town and will soon meet with industry role players to listen to their concerns.
The department said exports were critical for the growth of the economy and the minister has made this one of his top priorities.
Transnet said it was making progress when it came to decongesting the Port of Cape Town. It has not only reduced wait times but has also invested in upgrading its facilities.
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) for example launched two new boats destined for the Port of Cape Town built by the Sandock Austral Shipyards (SAS) in Durban.
This acquisition forms part of the TNPA Marine Fleet Renewal programme, which aims to improve shipping efficiencies at the South African ports by increasing marine craft availability.
The TNPA Marine Fleet Renewal programme is one of TNPA’s strategic deliverables in the Transnet Recovery Plan.
This milestone follows a building period that began after TNPA awarded SAS a contract of approximately R58-million in November 2022, to construct and deliver two new launch boats destined for the Port of Cape Town.
“The arrival of these new crafts comes at an opportune time when TNPA is executing the Transnet Recovery Plan, through the acquisition of fit-for-purpose marine fleet to improve operational efficiencies. This also aligns with our commitment to meeting industry demands in the western region,” said TNPA Acting Port Manager for Cape Town, Ophelia Shabane.
The department of agriculture says there has been movement regarding congestion at the Port of Cape Town, and that the minister would do everything possible, working hand in hand with other government departments and the industry role players to improve the situation at the ports.
