Business casts a wary eye on Port of Durban as cargo delays persist

Résumé détaillé

Businesses are anxiously checking their watches while cargo flows through the Port of Durban remain slower than they need to be, but undoing neglect will probably take longer than…

Businesses are anxiously checking their watches while cargo flows through the Port of Durban remain slower than they need to be, but undoing neglect will probably take longer than we hope.

“This is not simply about ships waiting outside our ports. South African factories are standing still, employees are being sent home, and businesses are suffering serious financial losses.”

John Bowman, whose company makes refuse collection equipment, wrote to Daily Maverick last week out of frustration. He told us that things are looking up since his letter, but his business is just one of many that have taken a knock due to the slowdowns at SA’s ports – the prime example being Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT), or Pier 2.

Durban’s issues have had a lot of airtime, but are neither new nor isolated. And while they deserve our attention, it is also worth looking more closely at how turnaround times affect our economy and why they are receiving so much attention.

Dave Watts, a maritime consultant who has worked with the South African Freight and Logistics Association (Safla) and the Citrus Growers’ Association, explained that Durban has two peak shipping seasons.

There’s citrus season, from April to October, followed by a year-end spike in activity, linked to Black Friday, Christmas, and industrial firms looking to finish up for the year.

“Everybody wants their cargo desperately… So it’s not right to have 12 ships outside at any given time,” said Watts. “That’s a bit of a train smash, frankly.”

An ironic but apt description, considering “the share of freight carried in South Africa by rail has fallen from around 22% in the mid-2010s to under 15% in 2025, despite some recovery since 2023,” according to Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies data released earlier this year.

Jacob van Rensburg, head of Research, Analytics and Industry Intelligence at the South African Association of Freight Forwarders, said: “The vessel backlog remains the principal concern … with current conditions adding around…

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