Examining container handling equipment to reduce port congestion at Durban Container Terminal.

Abstract

Port congestion has become a major problem around the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) precinct and investors and key stakeholders have raised concerns and expressed their frustration over the poor productivity and capacity limitations. The aim of this study was to examine container handling equipment that should reduce port congestion at the DCT. The objectives are: 1) to examine the productivity of the DCT in comparison to other ports nationally and internationally; 2) to examine the performance of current container handling equipment used at the DCT and 3) to examine and compare the costs and productivity of using a Rubber Tyre Gantry (RTG) system versus Straddle Carrier (SC) system at the DCT. This desktop study collected and analysed secondary data on container handling productivity and costs of the container handling equipment used at the DCT. Cost effective analysis was applied to the available equipment data and associated costs were retrieved and studied. A compound interest formulae and inflation calculator were used to convert all costs to their 2021 approximate values. The performance results between 2015 to 2020 showed that the DCT was performing poorly. The DCT, Pier 1 and Pier 2 use RTG and SC respectively. RTGs performed exceptionally well compared to SCs. Examining the advantages and disadvantages of the RTG and SC showed that the RTG was the preferred option. Although RTGs were more expensive to purchase and operate, the SCs were costlier to maintain. Analysis of the equipment used by leading container ports shows that top ports have adopted the RTG system and that 2018 and 2019, more RTGs were purchased than Rail Mounted Gantrys (RMGs) and SCs combined by major ports globally. The results indicate the most viable option would be for the DCT to adopt a RTG system of operation due to its high efficiency levels and cost effectiveness.