Durban port
State-owned Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) says the Port of Durban has harnessed the power of technology to bring together a range of stakeholders to address port issues since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa.
The port has held daily virtual stakeholder operations meetings, led by port manager Moshe Motlohi and includes representatives from shipping lines, terminal operators, the trucking fraternity and depots.
Some of the participants in the daily meeting include the South African Association of Ship Operations and Agents (Saasoa), the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, Transnet divisions, the South African Sugar Association, Bidvest Port Terminals, Tata Chemicals, Ocean Africa, SA Bulk Terminals, Grindrod and Citrus Growers Association.
The meetings enable every stakeholder to keep up to speed with daily operational plans and to address bottlenecks as the port navigates through this challenging period.
“We have found value in this because for the first time we have players who have never met coming together to look at the entire port plan and identify bottlenecks as they shift from one node to another.
“The insight derived from this has been useful because we have been able to advise authorities around the impact of some of these regulations,” says Motlohi.
Saasoa CEO Peter Besnard acknowledges the effort that has been applied by stakeholders during the stressful weeks of disaster management, lockdown and now the adjustment to lower alert levels.
The Port of Durban is also involved in other multistakeholder collaborations, including the Decongestion Task Team, which sees various private and public sector representatives working to tackle traffic pressure and congestion in the port’s bayhead precinct and surrounding road networks.