Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) and transporters aim to pilot a solution this week that could assist with the current chaotic truck booking system at the Durban Container Terminal (DCT), following an engagement session last week.

The two-week pilot project, which will be adopted if successful, includes dedicating 16 straddle carriers to service trucks on the landside.

Currently, there are six windows in a 24-hour period where an average of 325 truck booking slots are made available every four hours.

As part of the pilot process, this will change to two windows in a 48-hour period where an average of 2 840 truck booking slots will be made available in one go.

This should allow smaller transporters with fewer resources to compete fairly with bigger transporters which have dedicated administrative staff to secure bookings, says TPT.

Also, as of this week, all import container releases of more than 50 containers per transporter per vessel will not require any bookings for evacuation. However, group import release codes will be used, and start and end times applied.

“The wasting of slots was a critical matter and both parties agreed that transporters responsible for wasting slots will face penalties,” notes TPT.

As a way of work, DCT will firm up stacks earlier and share it with transporters 24 hours in advance.

Outlining increasing macroeconomic pressures and an industry in distress, transport logistics associations raised the need for DCT Pier 2 to speed up its equipment replacement plan as this was partly to blame for the current challenges at the port, notes TPT.

Wasted Slots
An analysis of the DCT Pier 2 truck booking system over the last four months shows that a total of 224 944 trucks were handled by the end of July.

This comprises an average of 1 950 truck booking slots made available a day.

Of these, an average of 203 slots were wasted daily – where bookings were made and not used.

Of the total transport companies on the database, less than 10% were able to secure more than four slots per window.

Also, when slots were made available, they were taken up within 30 seconds from the time they were introduced.

TPT says this is owing to the competitive nature of the logistics sector, especially in Durban, as the largest maritime hub in the country. 

The port operator adds that the Transnet Forensic Investigations Unit has been investigating allegations of corruption related to the manipulation of the truck booking system by users and employees alike, following several media reports.

Meanwhile, DCT Pier 2 will receive components for the first batch of 20 straddle carriers later this year, which should lead to an improvement in equipment availability.

Richards Bay to Up Weekly Trains to 32
Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) says the GF Coal channel, which facilitates export of coal through the Richards Bay Multipurpose Terminals (MPT) and the Navi Trade Terminals, saw a ramp-up from 21 trains a week to 28 planned trains a week in the first six months of the year.

Following the yearly coal line shutdown, this channel is now undertaking a further ramp-up to 32 trains a week by September 30.

This will equate to a further 1 035 truckloads moving from the road to rail.

TFR and Eswatini Rail, in collaboration with customers, have also started a coal service via the Golela line to Richards Bay to further boost coal haulage to the port.

During the yearly coal line shutdown, exporters will generally ramp up road volumes in order to supplement the tonnages that would have been moved by rail, as they seek to keep supply chains operational and meet vessel commitments, says TFR.

The rail parastatal says this is one of the key reasons truck congestion increased in the Richards Bay port precinct earlier this month.

As the rail service returns to normal after the shutdown, however, and the indicated ramp-up initiatives take effect, truck levels in the Port of Richards Bay are expected to normalise.