Durban - Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said a booking system that has been introduced at the Port of Richards Bay had reduced the number of trucks entering the port daily.
TPT said the port was designed to receive cargo by rail only. However, as a result of the reduction in rail capacity into Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the fires that burnt conveyor belts that were servicing ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA), Foskor and Grindrod, trucks into the port and the surrounds of the King Cetshwayo Municipality had increased significantly, reaching 1 500 trucks a day at the peak.
This was also exacerbated by the increased global price of coal, with coal exports increasing from 4.7 million in 2021/22 to 11.7 million tons in 2022/23 at the multi-purpose terminal.
It said over the past few months, they had reduced the number of trucks calling at the port daily by implementing a booking system. This had seen the number of trucks dropping from an average of 1 500 trucks a day to a manageable 700 trucks per day.
Managing executive: Richards Bay Terminals Thula Dlamini added that it must be emphasised that more than 50% of the trucks on the N2 were destined for back-of port (BOP) facilities.
Dlamini added that in October 2021, a fire occurred at the port, damaging 11 conveyor belts.
Dlamini said that this incident compelled harbour-bound industries to transport their commodities to and from the terminal via road trucks.
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, said the port was not efficiently processing the vehicles .
“Transnet has continually blamed trucks for arriving without slots but the slots are booked through the mining companies – thus there must be a communication gap/ breakdown.”
Kelly added that there needed to be a system which identified the volumes heading towards the port.
He said this system should be able to adjust the flow from the mines to the port.