A giant new ship-to-shore crane was unveiled in the Port of Port Elizabeth on Monday in line with efforts to breathe new life into SA’s struggling harbour operations.
The R240m crane will be used to accelerate loading and offloading at the port’s container terminal which has been at the centre of long-standing accusations of delay and inefficiency.
The country’s ports have long featured in the bottom half of global performance ratings, but Transnet began in 2024 with a major drive to bring in new equipment and use that to boost services and capacity at all levels.
Transport minister Barbara Creecy, who was the guest of honour, said logistics was a critical focus of the government.
“If you can’t move people and goods efficiently, you can’t grow the economy.
“The total process, from pit-to-port, is being addressed with the aim of fast-tracking improvements and reforms in our logistics sector to see that output reaches pre-pandemic levels within three to five years.”
She said these interventions included working with the logistics industry to repair infrastructure, and engaging with original equipment manufacturers to facilitate the servicing and upgrading of critical equipment.
“This event affirms Transnet’s strong commitment to revitalising its fleet, thus improving its reliability and availability.
“We believe investment in critical equipment is crucial to enhance operational efficiency and competitiveness.
“In an increasingly interconnected global economy, such investments are a catalyst for a more efficient, competitive and resilient environment.
“Transnet’s efficiency is the cornerstone of SA’s stability and economic growth.”
Creecy said the introduction of the new “crane on steroids” at the PE Harbour was in line with Transnet’s commitment to revitalise operations in all its ports.
“Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) invested R3.4bn in the previous financial year to boost capacity across its terminals including Durban, Richards Bay, East London, Cape Town, Gqeberha and Saldanha Bay.
“Going forward, TPT is expected to spend an average R4bn per financial year as part of its bold five-year investment plan to overhaul equipment.”
She said Transnet had moved 150-million tonnes of freight on its rail network during the 2023/2024 financial year, and the state-owned entity and her department had together set the goal of 250-million tonnes of freight moving by rail by 2030.
“At our ports, the target is to improve gross crane moves per hour from the 2024 average of 16 to 30 by 2030.”
The long-term plan for the Port of PE was that it would become a “clean port” after the relocation of the manganese and fuel terminals, focusing on recreation and tourism and restricting exports to containers, fruit and cars.
Asked about the decline of Transnet’s operations, necessitating this major restoration and what was now being done differently that would ensure success, Creecy said the public-private approach, particularly with rail, was key.
This meant the state still owned the rail network but requests for information were being issued to gauge market appetite for private-sector involvement in key rail corridors.
Transnet chief operating officer Solly Letsoalo said the new crane had been sourced from Ireland from global crane manufacturer Liebherr.
“It cost R240m and arrived in the Port of Port Elizabeth for assembly about six months ago.
“The Liebherr team assembled it and then began teaching our guys how to operate it.
“Together, we did observations and tests to make sure everything was working fine.”
He pointed out how the crane was controlled by a single person ensconced in a glass-bottomed chamber high above the ground.
When loading, the operator lowered the spreader or expandable claw to clamp down on a container, before hoisting it, sliding it across and lowering it onto the waiting vessel.
“The big design improvement is the built-in anti-sway so it can continue to operate even in winds of up to 90km/h.
“It has already begun moving containers and the expectation is it will be able to move an average of 30 containers an hour.”
He said there were already three ship-to-shore cranes being used in the Port of Port Elizabeth container terminal but they were only designed to operate in winds of up to 70km/h, and the new arrival also offered greater precision.
“So this will be our fourth ship-to-shore crane at this harbour.
“The big thing for our clients is to cut the loading and unloading time by as much as possible, and with this extra crane we can meet that demand.”
Touching on the minister’s reference to the vision of turning the harbour into a clean port, he said the plan was to move the manganese terminal and the fuel tank farm to the Port of Ngqura by 2028.
Speaking earlier, premier Oscar Mabuyane welcomed the launch of the new crane.
“It is our hope that with this new state-of-the-art technology crane, that can process larger vessels quicker and more efficiently, exporters will move closer to competing on a more even keel with their global competitors.”
He said the government was “heartened by the fledgling export output of manganese from the Eastern Cape”.
“We acknowledge and appreciate increased activity in Transnet’s freight rail in the manganese corridor between the Northern Cape and Gqeberha.
“Given the upward momentum on production output locally in the medium to long term, we urge for a rethink of the revised completion date of the manganese terminal at Port Elizabeth to be moved closer, to realise accelerated growth and to create much-needed jobs quicker in the province.”
The Herald
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