Loading turnaround at Bay port after devastating fire
THE devastating harbour conveyor system fire in October last year led to a public-private partnership that resulted in an impressive ship loading feat at the Port of Richards Bay on Friday.
The fire saw the terminal run a skip operation to move some cargo to vessels instead of the two conveyor belt routes which were damaged in the fire.
An early indicator of the recovery at the Richards Bay Bulk Terminal was evident when loading of 167 341 tons of magnetite to the vessel MV Braverus after a 171-hour stay was completed soon after midnight at a rate of
1 205 tons per hour.
‘The excellent performance comes just a few days after the terminal management team conducted thorough introspection, resulting in various internal and external initiatives.
‘The combination now sees the terminal run a focused operation on every vessel, treating each call as a transaction,’ said Terminal Manager Matumule Phasha.
‘Our partnership with one of our customers, South32, has seen us combine existing resources to repair the ship unloader, which is unprecedented.
‘This has resulted in improved loading rates, heightened employee morale and the need to offer our customers more value.’
He added that ongoing customer engagements had also resulted in initiatives that are currently contributing to operational improvements.
‘We have increased the number of gangs (operational teams per shift) from nine to 13 by identifying drivers who had been promoted to administrative positions internally.
‘This way we move more volumes in less the time. We are also refurbishing more skips internally making use of our Durban technical resources to save us the time of processes associated with going to market,’ said Phasha.
‘While there remain some challenges, the collaboration with customers as well as feedback received has set the terminal’s turnaround plan in motion.
‘The Richards Bay Bulk Terminal has also concluded plans to employ technology as a way of better monitoring its fleet of operational equipment, diesel use and the movement of commodities in the terminal environment.
‘The technology will enhance productivity,’ said Phasha.