Day / July 4, 2012

by Mike Poverello

TPT to operationalise new Post Panamax cranes at Ngqura

Transnet Port Terminals has successfully completed testing of two Liebherr Super Post Panamax cranes at Ngqura Container Terminal, just north of Port Elizabeth. The Ship-to-Shore cranes (STS), which were delivered in January bringing the terminal’s fleet of STS cranes to eight, represent an investment of R150 million by the port operator.

The cranes will improve productivity by increasing Ship Working Hour (SWH) – the number of containers moved by the number of cranes working a vessel in one hour. A total of 78 additional operators have been trained and are ready to operate the equipment. Transnet’s newly formulated Market Demand Strategy will see Transnet SOC Limited invest R300 billion on freight infrastructure over the next seven years. Of this, TPT will invest R33 billion to boost port operations.

The portion allocated for the 600,000 m2 Ngqura Container Terminal includes just under R1.1 billion for its Phase 2 A expansion, which will increase container handling capacity from the current 800,000 TEU to 1.5 million TEU by 2013/14. A further R 808 million will be spent between 2015 and 2019 on the terminal’s Phase 2 B expansion to increase the terminal’s capacity to two million TEU. Source: Porttechnology.org

Related articles
by Mike Poverello

WCO Annual Report

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the World Customs Organization (WCO), the Organization published a new Annual Report that takes stock of where the WCO has been, where it is now, and where it is going, in addition to serving as a window on the many successes of the WCO, its Members and Customs’ external partners.

The Annual Report contains two major sections: the first includes a summary of the WCO’s mission, history, strategies, current activities and organizational arrangements; and the second comprises profiles of current Members, such as information on the Customs administration, the Director General and contact details, as well as data related to the administration’s operations.

Of particular note is the fact that the WCO’s 177 Member Customs administrations collectively employ approximately 800,000 staff and contribute an average of 33% of their Governments’ total tax revenue, while processing over 98% of all international trade.

The WCO’s role as the steward of global Customs standards is reflected in the Annual Report, which also presents information on how the WCO continues to assist Customs authorities to achieve their objectives, especially the effective application of controls while efficiently facilitating legitimate trade. Source: wcoomd.org

Related articles