Question NW59 to the Minister of Public Enterprises
23 February 2024 - NW59
Gondwe, Dr M to ask the Minister of Public Enterprises
Whether compared to December 2022 there have been any improvement in January 2023 in the turnaround time in respect of cargo handling, especially of deciduous fruits being exported from Cape Town; (2) What (a) was the impact of strong winds/bad weather on the efficiency of the harbour at Cape Town during 1-31 December 2023 and (b) total number of working days or hours were lost due to bad weather in this period; (3) Whether, with regards to big shipping companies diverting their ships away from the Suez Canal via Cape Town, there has been an increase in ships docking at the port in Cape Town due to this diversion; if so, how many?
Reply:
According to the information received from Transnet
(1) and (2) Kindly see the response provided in Parliamentary Question No. 58
(3) Cape Town Terminals have contracted line services calling in accordance with the terminal’s full capacity design. Therefore, any additional vessels are reviewed and handled on an ad-hoc basis, depending on the occupancy and availability.
Cape Town will see short-term benefits as there is an opportunity for the Western and Northern Cape deciduous fruit exporters to export more of their produce to Europe and America.
Most vessels now re-routing via the Cape of Good Hope (COGH) would still have cargo for foreign destinations and therefore would not necessarily request to stop in South Africa for additional volumes. However, the South African Ports will continue to pursue additional business opportunities which may arise from the additional vessels calling via COGH.
Remarks: Reply: Approved / Not Approved/Comments
Jacky Molisane P J Gordhan, MP
Acting Director-General Minister of Public Enterprises
Date: Date: