News / Warning to carriers as floods add to the woes of South African citrus farmers

Port of Durban clean up operation. Photo: Transnet

Maersk’s Safari service maintained its scheduled call at South African container hub Durban yesterday, after the carrier had diverted two other ships due to severe infrastructure damage to port access roads in last week’s devastating floods.

The carrier’s decision to send the 8,400 teu Maersk Stralsund to Durban, rather than discharge its Asian imports at Port Elizabeth, came after port operator Transnet confirmed it had managed to reopen part of the access road.

The state-owned authority tweeted: “Phase 1 of Bayhead restoration complete ahead of schedule on 16 April. Trial operation done and two lanes on Bayhead Road officially open on Sunday.”

VesselsValue has so far recorded only a handful of vessels with changed destinations, being redirected to alternative ports, but much will depend on how quickly intermodal operations recover from the flood chaos.

The Loadstar’s contacts in Durban suggest there will be a lengthy period of disruption to the supply chain, with many importers from the diverted ships deciding to take delivery at Port Elizabeth, rather than await the uncertainty of a feeder back to Durban and the difficulty in arranging onward transport from the port.

Meanwhile, the death toll from the region’s worst floods in over 60 years has reached almost 450, with a further 50 people still reported missing.

And despite what Maersk described as a “temporary solution” to the main port access road, the carrier is not expecting to return to anywhere near normal before the end of the month.

It added that it awaited further updates on the resumption of rail links and that services remained suspended, with the latest aerial assessment revealing “significant damage to the network”.

The severe disruption to the supply chain at Africa’s largest container port is further bad news for the nation’s Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) members, already  navigating a very challenging year, given the raft of inflationary pressures hitting production.

CGA CEO Justin Chadwick said it was the latest obstacle for growers ahead of the 2022 fruit export season.

“There are so many red flags that growers are worried about, and rightly so,” he said adding that the availability of containers, limited number of shipping opportunities and the unreliability of carrier schedules were being exacerbated by “massive” increases in freight rates.

He said it was “rather disappointing that old loyalties seem to be forgotten”, referring to the combination of a capacity crunch and huge freight rate hikes from carriers.

But he said: “The tide will turn. Cargo owners will find a way to survive, and that survival may exclude those who are skinning them now.”