Ports & Terminals

The APL England, a 5,780 TEU capacity containership which lost around 40 containers off the coast of New South Wales in Australia has been detained in Brisbane by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) since the 26th May..

After AMSA inspectors were satisfied that the ship was fit to sail, the empty APL England was released on 19th of June and allowed to sail from Australia to undertake repairs in China..

South Africa has been on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic since the 27th of March 2020 and as of date, South Africa has 4220 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 79 deaths..

Below is the gist of President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the nation on the 23rd of April 2020 and details relevant to the risk-adjusted strategy for the resumption of economic activity in the country..

COVID-19, has changed the way this world works and is expected to continue to influence the movement of global economies, human resources, the medical field and supply chain for the foreseeable future..

As at the time of writing of this article, the global number of infected people was around 2.38+ million with 164,000+ dead which is around 6.88% of the total infected..

Several ports around the world were/are either closed or working under limited conditions with several restrictions imposed on normal port activities.. Global trade has been severely impacted and is undergoing strain as never before..

Our industry plays a highly highly pivotal role in ensuring that the flow of goods continues, especially the flow of critical and essential goods all around the world..

Its good to see that some of the shipping lines have come up with some creative cost saving options for COVID-19..

Further to the various updates we have been posting here about the COVID-19 lockdown situation in South Africa and the various regulatory changes thereof, SARS has published an update from their side on the measures relating to COVID-19 and the Impact on Customs of new Government regulations..

This update replaces the Customs Practice Note and its Explanatory Note issued on 06 and 07 April 2020 respectively..

Do ports have a responsibility to check customs release documents..??

Across the trading world, Port and Customs are two different entities and in a lot cases, terminals within the ports are privately operated whereas Customs is always part of the Government..

A terminal, off-dock CY or port would be the last bastion before the cargo is released to the receiver (in the case of imports) or shipped on board a vessel (in the case of exports)..

I wanted to hear from you if there are ANY ports in the world that has this check point..??

Port Congestion is one of the dreaded words in the dictionary for ship owners, ship operators, ports and customers alike.. It is a situation has several causes and consequences and has a big impact on the supply chain as a whole..

This article unpacks what is port congestion, the causes for port congestion and who is affected..

On the 23rd of March 2020, the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa declared a nationwide lock-down as of the midnight of Thursday 26th March 2020..

The lockdown is part of South Africa's bid to contain and slow down the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19 in the country and enforces a total lockdown on all services with exception of essential services as defined in the Regulations issued on the 25th of March 2020..

In line with these regulations, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) announced that they will remain operational to support the transportation of essential goods and services as well as those goods and services that support the production or provision of those essential goods and services to the country..

Citing the unforeseen impact of COVID-19 as beyond their control, TPT has advised their customers that they are invoking the provisions of the Force Majeure clauses in TPT’s commercial agreements and Standard Trading Terms and Conditions..

COVID-19 the pandemic that came into the limelight in December 2019 has now spread to every country around the world. This has caused major economic and social disruptions with far reaching impacts on global supply chains.. One of the key issues is the impact COVID-19 is having on port calls and particularly, the issue of blank sailings.. Ocean Insights has released some key data on the effects of COVID-19 on global port calls alongwith a free tracker to monitor blank sailings..

As of midnight of the 26th of March 2020, South Africa's coronavirus COVID-19 figure was 927 confirmed cases with no casualties..

Today, 27th March 2020 is Day 1 of the 21 day State lockdown announced by President Mr.Cyril Ramaphosa on the 23rd March in order to contain the spread of the virus..

As part of this lockdown, Transnet has finalised and announced a series of measures to ensure throughput of essential services in line with the Maritime Security Regulations and Directives..

Here is what they had to say..

Further to previous articles on COVID-19, herewith an update from Transnet National Ports Authority in South Africa relating to COVID-19 and impact on port operations in South Africa..

Demurrage and Detention has been a bone of contention between shipping lines and customers for several years..

Shipping lines have been charging demurrage and detention costs on containers that the customers do not pick up or turn in on time, a situation that prevents shipping lines from utilising their equipment effectively..

Customers (importers mainly) on the other hand have been complaining about shipping lines using unfair practices when charging demurrage and detention even if the fault is not on their side..

Maybe there is truth on both sides and in terms of this issue, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is not leaving anything to chance..

The FMC has called for public comment on its Interpretive Rule on Demurrage and Detention under the Shipping Act and in assessing just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to demurrage and detention charges..

DP World who are well known for their container terminal operations around the world has come up with an innovative solution which is designed to transform the way containers are handled in container terminals - whether greenfield or brownfield..

A greenfield terminal is a newly built terminal built from scratch for the purpose of container terminal operations, whereas a brownfield terminal is an already existing container terminal which needs to be modified or upgraded and has several infrastructure or development constraints such as space..

In this day and age where the urban world is facing space constraints in terms of land, whether it is buildings or container terminal storage, the only way seems to be UP..

A new joint venture between global trade enabler DP World and industrial engineering specialists, SMS Group has done just that by launching BOXBAY - a new high bay container storage system that will transform the way containers are handled in the ports it operates in..