Pictured: Public Enterprises Minister, Mr Malusi Gigaba

Transnet has unveiled seven new state-of-the-art ship-to-shore cranes at the Durban Container Terminal – Pier 2.

At the unveiling, Public Enterprises Minister, Mr Malusi Gigaba said it will assist Transnet in its drive to boost productivity and efficiency at what he describes as the Southern hemisphere’s biggest and busiest port.

The cranes, were supplied by China-based original equipment manufacturer, ZPMC following a competitive tender process in 2011, and are part of Transnet Port Terminals’ accelerated crane fleet acquisition programme targeted at replacing its ageing fleet. Transnet Port Terminals is Transnet’s port operations unit.

Transnet operators are also undergoing intensive training on the cranes to ensure maximum benefit.

While taking members of the media through a tour and an exhibition of the capabilities of the tandem-lift cranes, Minister Gigaba said the Durban Container Terminal – Pier 2 had in the past experienced significant productivity challenges which affected the overall performance of the Port. This, he said, was mainly due to old and outdated equipment used.

Minister Gigaba said the new equipment could simultaneously handle two 12 meter containers or four 6 meter containers and lift up to a maximum of 80 tons. They are the biggest in Africa and can handle new generation vessels with 24 containers stowed across the deck.

The Minister said, “These capabilities will see a massive jump in productivity with gross crane moves per hour (GCH) – a key measure of terminal efficiency and how well equipment is used – jumping from the current 26 to 33 GCH over the next three years. This is a 27 percent improvement.”

“Ship working hour (SWH), the rate at which a terminal is able to load and offload container ships in an hour and a key consideration for our customers, will improve from the current 68 containers to 85 once our operators are fully conversant with operating the equipment and newer generation vessels with larger parcel sizes call to our ports – that will be a 25 percent increase,” the Minister said.

Through further innovation and optimum planning, the terminal is able to stretch the cranes’ capability to carry four 12 meter empty containers simultaneously through vertical twin lift.

Previously, terminal operations, especially in Durban (Pier 2) and Port Elizabeth were restricted by ageing crane fleets and the resultant high probability of equipment breakdown. The acquisition and employment of these cranes will enable the country’s port productivity to compete and be benchmarked against leading terminal operators’ high performance standards.

The cranes are part of Transnet’s rolling R300 billion seven year investment programme – the Market Demand Strategy. Over the next 20 years, Transnet Port Terminals, which currently operates 45 cranes in seven ports across the country, will buy 39 new ship-to-shore cranes.

In line with Transnet’s commitment to the Competitive Supplier Development Programme – the DPE-led initiative to localise the manufacturing of imported equipment – the contract with ZPMC had significant local manufacturing, skills transfer and supplier development elements. These allowed for various agreements, including technology transfer for the manufacture of spares and key components; intellectual property rights; use of local expertise and labour in the various stages of assembly and a significant training element in both Durban and Shanghai.

Transnet is currently expanding its handling capacity at the Cape Town Container Terminal and is positioning the Ngqura Container Terminal in the Eastern Cape as a trans-shipment hub. The company has also acquired the old Durban International Airport site for the construction of a dig-out port to cater for projected rise in demand. The latter will be built in phases between 2016 and 2039.

Port Terminals operates cargo terminals in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.