Gridlock hits South Africa's busiest port, 60,000 containers stuck at sea

Business and political groups claim that over 60,000 containers are at sea, waiting to be offloaded at the largest port in South Africa, as a result of bottleneck caused by equipment breakdowns and bad weather. This situation is negatively impacting the country’s already weak economy.

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) has reported that dozens of vessels are awaiting clearance from the port of Durban, which is responsible for over 60% of the nation’s container cargo.

A political spat broke out over the congestion at the state-owned Transnet port on Monday, with the main opposition party demanding the public enterprises minister be fired.

2024 will see general elections in South Africa due to the country’s high unemployment rate and slow economic growth.

Being a significant exporter of agricultural and mineral goods, its ports are frequently thought of as entry points to southern Africa.

According to Transnet, inclement weather, ageing equipment, and other problems are aggravating breakdowns, which is why Durban is experiencing delays.

But according to business associations and the DA, the problem has been building for a while.

Transnet, which runs all of the nation’s ports and the nation’s rail freight network, has long struggled to sustain Africa’s most industrialised economy due to fraud scandals, maintenance issues, and theft.

According to SAAFF, delays at Durban and other terminals are costing the economy more than 120 million rand ($6.4 million) every day.

South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last week that one of the proposed changes to the logistics system was increased private sector involvement in container terminals.

According to polls, the ruling African National Congress, which has been plagued by accusations of corruption and poor leadership, may see a decline in support below 50% for the first time since democracy was established in 1994.

(With agency inputs)