SA’s harbours are slowly recovering

After a decline in ships docking at South African ports between 2019 and 2021, the country’s harbours appear to be making a gradual comeback.

Almost all of the country’s exported goods leave through harbours operated by state-owned Transnet.

The sharp drop in vessels arrivals – from 9,882 in 2019 to 8,453 in 2021 – was the result of the covid pandemic, compounded by ageing infrastructure and years of mismanagement and corruption at Transnet.

However, economic recovery and increased investment in South Africa’s ports over the past few years, including new public-private partnerships, appear to be arresting the decline, with 9,342 vessels arriving last year.

Durban harbour, the country’s largest, has battled with ageing infrastructure and administrative delays, resulting in long waiting times. A new public-private partnership came into effect in January at Durban’s Pier 2 and is expected to improve throughput and ease congestion.

Richards Bay is used primarily for coal exports, but due to inefficiencies in Transnet’s rail operations there is not enough coal arriving at the port. There have, however, been some improvements in rail operations and infrastructure upgrades over the past two years, although vessel numbers remain well below 2018 levels.

Cape Town harbour has been busier than ever. Since 2018, it has overtaken Richards Bay as the country’s second-busiest port, with record numbers in 2024. The increased traffic has put pressure on the harbour’s limited infrastructure, causing bottlenecks and delays. Substantial infrastructure upgrades and improvements are ongoing since 2024.

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