Transnet halts port operations amid severe weather conditions

Source: Archive

The country's coastal regions, especially the Western Cape, have experienced disruptive rains and violent winds causing damaging waves since Sunday.

State-owned Transnet, which was already battling to clear port backlogs caused by under-investment in equipment and maintenance, impacting trade, said operations at four of its seven ports - Cape Town, Saldanha, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura - has been affected by bad weather.

"Strong winds reaching 35-50 knots and high sea swells exceeding 3.5 meters have led to shipping movements being suspended at some ports for safety reasons," Transnet said in a statement.

No major incident had been reported by Tuesday, Transnet added.

On Tuesday, 9 July, the South African Weather Service warned of damaging waves around Durban on the east coast, the country's biggest port and one of the busiest in Africa.