Nelson Mandela Bay Businesses Struggle Amid Durban Port Crisis

The economic engine of Nelson Mandela Bay is encountering significant challenges due to the ongoing logistical disruptions at the Port of Durban. The situation has grown so dire that the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber has raised alarm over the sustainability of import and export activities in the area.

Denise van Huyssteen, Chamber CEO, has outlined the heavy toll exerted on local businesses. To circumvent the congestion at Durban and keep operations running, companies are incurring "massive costs" by diverting cargo via road to alternative ports in Windhoek and Maputo. This not only reflects a financial strain but also a suboptimal solution that could impact the competitiveness of these businesses.

The crisis is a result of a logjam at the Durban port causing delays for cargo from the Far East – some waits stretching up to six weeks. Ships are stuck in limbo, waiting to berth, which stifles production schedules, jeopardizes export orders, and fails local demand requirements. These delays create a ripple effect that is felt throughout the entirety of the local economy in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Adding to the bottleneck issues in Durban and Cape Town, Transnet's new booking system, introduced at the Port Elizabeth Port last month, is not helping the matter. In fact, according to van Huyssteen, it is making matters worse. The business community had urged Transnet to delay the new system until the pre-existing issues at other major ports were resolved, but their pleas were apparently overlooked.

At the heart of the Chamber's concerns is the plea for Nelson Mandela Bay – particularly the Port Elizabeth and Nqura ports – to be integrated into national logistics intervention plans. This coordinated approach, it is argued, could be crucial in navigating out of the current crises.

The Business Chamber's appeal is marked by an urgency that underscores the need for immediate and effective resolution strategies that will address the country-wide logistics disruption. The Chamber supports placing a halt on the deployment of new systems until current congestion crises are adequately tackled, to alleviate the burden on businesses in the Bay.

The logistical issues at the Port of Durban underscore a complex web of infrastructural and operational inadequacies that require thorough and prompt attention. It is a situation that entails concerted efforts from the business community, transport and logistics industry, and government to find viable solutions that could ensure the reliability of South Africa's ports.

As these discussions continue, businesses in Nelson Mandela Bay hold their breath, hoping for an expedited resolution that would restore the efficacies of their trade activities and ensure the economic vitality of the region remains intact.