Carriers warn of 20-day delays as congestion crisis at Durban worsens

Appeal to president as congestion at Durban box terminal hits crisis point Extreme congestion at South Africa’s Durban Gateway Terminal has got so bad that on Friday, ... WTC: AHEAD OF EARNINGS CHRW: LACK OF MOMENTUM JBHT: HEALTHY CORRECTION VW: NEW AI PARTNERSHIPKNIN: RIP KMKMAERSK: ANOTHER UPGRADE DSV: STILL DOWN AMZN: LATAM INVESTMENT WMT: BULLET QUESTION WMT: CFO TO ANALYSTS WMT: EYES ON TARIFF REFUNDSWMT: HEADWINDSUPS: BEATING RISK-FREE BUTFDX: MULTI-BILLION CONTRACT WTC: AHEAD OF EARNINGS CHRW: LACK OF MOMENTUM JBHT: HEALTHY CORRECTION VW: NEW AI PARTNERSHIPKNIN: RIP KMKMAERSK: ANOTHER UPGRADE DSV: STILL DOWN AMZN: LATAM INVESTMENT WMT: BULLET QUESTION WMT: CFO TO ANALYSTS WMT: EYES ON TARIFF REFUNDSWMT: HEADWINDSUPS: BEATING RISK-FREE BUTFDX: MULTI-BILLION CONTRACT The congestion at Durban Gateway Terminal has worsened, with delays hitting 10 days, and there is little sign that a resolution is imminent creating more frustration among the forwarding community. Sources told The Loadstar the terminal’s Pier 2 was “materially constrained”, noting that while delays of 10 days were expected, “some individual services are further behind”. One forwarder told The Loadstar: “Honestly, it is a shit show. ICTSI has taken over one of the terminals and, apparently, productivity at the gateway has worsened. As to getting goods moved, it’s a crapshoot.” ICTSI acquired 49% of the terminal in January after a contentious battle with APM Terminals, following South Africa’s decision to allow private sector participation in its port operations. The deal with ICTSI was seen as necessary to contend with decades-long inadequacies in the port’s equipment and congestion, with criticism that improvements were not happening fast enough. Also, the introduction of new systems necessitated retraining the workforce, which is adding to the delays, with some sources suggesting that there is no resolution in sight. One local forwarding source told The Loadstar that to clear the cargo backlog would “take at least a few weeks, probably more”, and that was on the basis that the number of ships and containers waiting to be handled did not increase. Indeed, some carriers are now warning customers to expect delays of 20 days. The source added that “containers discharged on 11 August are still waiting in the terminal”, and that while the number of free storage days had been extended today, there had been no update on what would happen, going forward. Part of the problem is that South Africa has struggled since the rerouting of vessels round the Cape from the Red Sea – an issue compounded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and now responsible for 9% of global port congestion, according to Linerlytica. For uninterrupted access, sign in or sign up to The Daily News, Premium or The Loadstar Enterprise Plan. Comment on this article