State-owned Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) on July 28 said its Navis customer links were now fully operational at all container terminals.

"All stakeholders are expected to fully use the Navis system, with the only exception being the Ngqura and Port Elizabeth Container Terminals that will communicate the transition to the Navis system shortly," TPT said.

TPT CE Pepi Silinga said Transnet had identified the source of the information technology system disruption and taken significant lessons from that particular process, and should be fully on-stream by Friday at the latest.

CAPE TOWN TRUCK BOOKING
Meanwhile, during a Port of Cape Town stakeholder engagement meeting, TPT reported on the progress made by the Port of Cape Town Task Team on the findings of two research reports, which were commissioned by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism and which investigated the root causes of congestion at the Cape Town Container Terminal.

Cape Town Container Terminal manager Ngobile Ndlovu and TPT Truck Booking System national project lead Thulas Dlamini shared how the recommendations from these research reports would support performance improvements.

Importantly, the recommendations have been taken into account in the development of the new truck booking system, which is currently being rolled out at the Port of Durban, and which is scheduled to go live by the end of August at the Port of Cape Town, said Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier.

The truck booking system will schedule truck arrivals and allocation of recourses. The system has already shown positive improvements at the Port of Durban, with truck turnaround times reduced from 313 minutes to 99 minutes, without introducing additional or new equipment.

“We welcome the announcement that the development of the truck staging area has been expedited with the delivery moved forward from the end of 2026 to the end of 2023, which will also ease congestion both outside and inside the Port of Cape Town if implemented in conjunction with the truck booking system.

“It is also promising to hear that Transnet will increase the number of rubber-tyred gantries from 21 to 26 by November at the Port of Cape Town, which will be just in time for the next table grape season in the Western Cape,” said Maynier.

“The Port of Cape Town remains critical to our strategy to save jobs and rebuild the economy in the Western Cape, and I am encouraged by the updates provided during our engagement on the progress made to improve efficiencies at the Port of Cape Town.

“While these initiatives and announcements are welcomed, they will take some time to bear fruit and in the short to medium term there continue to be significant challenges which cause frustrations across the port logistics supply chain that need be addressed more immediately. We remain committed to building strong partnerships with all the stakeholders to address these issues and achieve the vision for a world class competitive Port of Cape Town,” he said.