Port Elizabeth Port
Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has taken delivery of the first two of four RAM rotating spreaders that are set to create an additional 1.8-million tons a year of capacity for manganese exports at its Port Elizabeth (PE) terminal.
A further two spreaders will arrive from China at the end of October.
TPT Cape Channel GM Velile Dube noted in a statement issued this week that the substantial R24-million investment in the acquisition of the two rotating spreaders would play a pivotal role in opening up another export leg in South Africa and in ensuring that more of this high-value commodity can be exported out of the terminal.
“The decision to procure the world-class equipment was owing to market demand to provide a cargo handling solution. It is also well-known and implemented technology in other top terminals around the world.
“We have every intention of becoming one of the top five global terminals in five years’ time, and this is the kind of equipment and strategy necessary to achieve that,” Dube said.
The rotating spreaders will be connected to existing ship-to-shore cranes and will be commissioned to interface with the crane’s software to ensure the efficient loading of manganese onto vessels.
TPT Cape Channel senior engineering manager Lesiba Ramatladi explained that the rotating spreaders can be used for handling any type of bulk material and that it is a more cost-effective and simpler way of loading manganese, while increasing capacity.
The PE terminal is the largest exporter of manganese in South Africa, and TPT aims for it to be the largest globally within the next six years.