Deciduous fruit exports through the Cape Town Container Terminal are up 6% year-on-year so far for the season, despite inclement weather and shipping backlogs, says Transnet Port Terminals (TPT).

The season has seen an average loss of 39 days in terms of shipping activity owing to fog, wind and, at times, underwater currents, as well as equipment maintenance and breakdowns.

As it stands, the terminal is averaging seven days in vessel delays.

Cape Terminals managing executive Wandisa Vazi assures in a press release that TPT is working with stakeholders to maximise its network of 16 sea-cargo terminals across the TPT business and is securing employees from other terminals to assist.

Other initiatives the terminal has been rolling out include an increased number of operational equipment on both the landside and waterside, with reliability programmes in place to sustain equipment performance.

Vazi notes that the terminal is also collaborating with original-equipment manufacturers to increase the turnaround times of spares availability and maintenance, deploying engineering expertise from other terminals and Transnet operating divisions to prioritise equipment performance.

Between October and March every year, the Cape Town Container Terminal loads table grapes, berries, plums, apples, pears and peaches onto vessels destined for Europe, elsewhere in Africa, the Far and Middle East, as well as the US.

With the export season currently at its peak, the terminal is urging industry to capitalise on the underutilised night shift capacity for truck deliveries to keep the momentum.

As at the end of January, the terminal moved 18 296 refrigerated containers of deciduous fruits and continues to plan with and give feedback to customers through regular communication channels daily.

Between April 2021 and January 2022, weather was the second biggest contributor (at 25%) to vessel cancellations and omissions after blank sailing (32%), which occurs when customers do not nominate a vessel for a respective window.

Actual operational delays only amount to about 3%.

“The impact wind has during this season cannot be undermined. Once the wind subsides, we review our planning by the hour to ensure a reduction of truck queues at the gate,” says Vazi.