Domestic ports shun automation trend

Andi_Graf via pixabay

The Netherlands' Rotterdam fully automated port did not suit SA's conditions, Socikwa told a stakeholders breakfast hosted by TPT in Johannesburg yesterday. TPT operates seven ports in SA including in Durban, Richards Bay, Ngqura and Saldanha. "Naturally in a country like ours, where we have serious unemployment, an approach of that nature, the full automation of ports, I don't think would work" said Socikwa.

"But what we are starting to look at is how can we leverage the people we have working in the terminals, upskilling them to be able to use and leverage the technology that is there."

An analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said automating terminals was expensive, hence it occurred in larger ports in the northern hemisphere, such as Singapore and Rotterdam.

Investment in larger vessels

Socikwa said local and regional ports terminals also needed to be ready for another global trend characterised by an increase in the size of the vessels companies were investing in. He said this created a "cascading effect" of smaller vessels being displaced and diverted into emerging-market ports.

In 2010, SA's terminals could not receive a fully laden 9,000-container vessels, as the ports did not have the necessary draught. However, vessels of 8,000 to 10,000 containers were now "the norm". Shipping companies were investing in vessels as large as 23,000-container carriers, with talk of 30,000-container vessels being built and launched.

This had led to the "cascading" of the smaller 8,000 to 10,000-container vessels to ports in SA and in Latin America. "We need to make sure terminals are able and ready to receive and efficiently work these vessels, you need to invest in people to be able to do these things," he said.

Slowdown in Chinese economy presents opportunity

Socikwa said even though SA was significantly dependent on China for its mineral exports, the slowdown in the Chinese economy presented an opportunity for regional economic integration between African countries.

"We need to look smartly at how we do things together for ourselves. There is huge scope for growth for the continent and, as Africans, we need to rise to that challenge and make sure we make something of it" he said.

Source: Business Day