Pointing out port performance

State of the Maritime Nation Part I

We are more than halfway through 2025 and a quarter of the way into a century that was supposed to deliver solutions to the country’s maritime challenges. As each year seems to pass more quickly than the last, the launch of Operation Phakisa does not feel that long ago, but it’s a decade since we hitched our hopes to the promises of the Big Fast Results intervention.

Recently, however, the government’s Operation Phakisa website that housed all those original documents and pronouncements was officially taken down. It was meant to provide transparency and act as a useful dashboard to track progress as well as promote transparency.

Granted – it became a visceral reminder of the lacklustre delivery – but it did provide an important repository of information. It represented the effort of countless maritime stakeholders who gave their time willingly to help move the blue economy forward and it has now simply been erased. Unless, like me, you tried to systematically download those documents, nothing official remains online to prompt accountability to the cause.

And while there has been some sewing and stitching together of fabric here and there to advance Phakisa’s ambitions – many hands are finally pointing towards the naked emperor even as some politicians still cling to the fantasy by continuing to quote the now completely unrealistic targets for economic growth and job creation set in the original documents.

Yes, Phakisa still slips onto the agenda of conferences. By inviting speakers and input from government departments, well-structured conferences help us maintain a record to which we can hold politicians accountable.                           

It is enlightening attending conferences that provide a glimpse of who is still in fantasy land; who just enjoys pointing at the emperor’s indecency and who is willing to sit hunched over a sewing machine and work towards producing some clothing. Hell, at this point it does not need to be a perfect fit – we can tailor it as needed, but we need to start walking out fully clothed in our desire to effect change and implement solutions the obvious challenges we face.

The African Harbour Masters Committee Conference (AHMCC) held in Cape Town in April delivered an ambitious programme of panel discussions that highlighted many of the current trending maritime topics. While there was a refreshing understanding of the state of the emperor’s attire, it should be noted that some remain committed to the fantasy and continue to push outdated targets as viable goals.

The idea to host such an event and position it as an opportunity for African harbour masters to network and share experience should be lauded. Captain Thulani Dubeko of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), who is the chair of the African Harbour Masters Committee was rightly commended for his efforts to convene what programme director, Londy Ngcobo described as a “family” meeting.

Ports are vital to Africa’s prosperity

Quite simply, ports are an absolutely vital thread in the overall fabric of Africa’s wardrobe of strategies to deliver economic growth. Many African countries, including South Africa, are failing to deliver against internationally accepted benchmarks for efficiency and performance.

The topic of port performance is well-established as one for discussion in conferences, debates, op-eds, newspaper articles and social media posts. Each one stands alone, but stitch them together and there is a blanket agreement that, even as we make some gains, we must acknowledge the economic impact of not getting this right.

In his welcome address, Dubeko acknowledged the importance of port cities and called on harbour masters to ensure that their ports “take a step forward in improving the lives of everybody”. Our harbour masters are at the needle of where thread meets fabric, and I sometimes wonder if they are as frustrated as port users each time the thread slips the needle, and the machine stops working.

TNPA executives deliver prepared speeches that aim to emphasise their “commitment” to strengthening port performance through the delivery on their mandate. To be fair, the AHCMA did provide a platform to share some of the recent successful deliveries and there has been notable tangible announcements of opportunities to attract private investment into the ports.

Geopolitical trends show that we cannot rely on old trade patterns, but a global shift also provides an opportunity for Africa’s ports to sew up differently.

Col Andre Ciseau, Secretary General of the Port Management Association of East and Southern Africa (PMAESA) voiced this at AHMCC. “I call on African harbour masters to join and use the opportunity to develop working relationships to explore a bigger contribution to African trade,” he said.

Jean Mari Koffi described this as an important “crossroad moment to connect African trade to the world and to unlock the ocean economy.” He said that the International Association of Harbour Masters had never been more valuable, and he emphasised that its role had changed dramatically to focus on maximising performance and protecting the environment at a time when ships are getting bigger, technology is changing rapidly and skills are shifting.

In short – he called on harbour masters to step up. Given his directive, port users and stakeholders should feel comfortable about broadening calls for accountability to shift from TNPA’s boardrooms to port control towers across the country.

Enhancing port capacity

Any panel discussion on enhancing capacity is therefore a welcome opportunity to showcase the gaps, the solutions and explain the way forward with measurable deliverables and timelines. But panel discussions are tricky things. They can be excellent tools for robust debate or a procession of promotional power points. My hope is always for the former.

The AHMCC delivered a bit of a hybrid approach which provided some insightful input, but could have been lifted with a bit more interactive questioning from facilitators. If not used correctly, a panel discussion can easily become a lost opportunity to go beyond palatable public relations.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) highlighted the level of expertise that exists and showcased technology and laboratories that they have established to promote the development of port infrastructure. These are very real accomplishments that have benefited from more than 50 years of effort.

Eugene Mabille of the CSIR made a case for the proactive investment in the technology that drives smart ports and highlighted the Integrated Port Operations System (IPOSS), the Vessel Motion Forecast Tool (VMFT) and Vessel Simulation Technology that have been developed for use across the commercial ports in South Africa. He also spoke about their capacity to undertake physical modelling in their Stellenbosch-based lab.

It’s the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere and capable of providing data for coastal engineering research that includes wave agitation, ship navigation and modelling as well as hydraulic modelling.

Given the level of expertise and capacity within South Africa, we have no excuses for sub-standard port infrastructure.

Malefetsane Setaka’s presentation on the project to deepen and lengthen the Durban Container Terminal provided a rare glimpse of the complexity associated with delivering upgraded port infrastructure.

It’s a long-term project that commenced with the dredging of the channel in 2010 and extends to increase the length of the quay to 1,210 m in three phases from March next year to June 2030. Admittedly, it is a little more difficult to point fingers at TNPA when confronted with the true scope of these infrastructure projects. There are dedicated port employees who are committed to the result.

But port capacity is about more than infrastructure. It is about optimising port services, personnel through the delivery of tug capacity, pilots, mooring operations and stevedoring requirements. This means there is a need to develop the requisite skills and invest in equipment that meets the environmental needs of each individual port.

Conference sponsors including ShoreTension, Oynetec and AMSOL highlighted that the private sector can play an important role in improving efficiencies. While equipment and technology are easy to manage through private sector engagement, TNPA has resolutely not engaged in any substantive way to employ private operators to bolster harbour towage or pilot transfers.

While Graham Dreyden of AMSOL raised harbour services as one of the company’s key competencies, there was no opportunity to discuss whether TNPA sees private sector involvement in such activities as a potential solution for enhancing port efficiencies.

A window of opportunity

Enhancing capacity of ports by investing in technology is non-negotiable and I am surprised that the need to implement a Maritime Single Window system has not dominated more discussions. It was, therefore, refreshing to see it as a dominant topic at the AHMCC.  

We are lagging behind as a country and as a continent. As of 1 January 2024, all International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Member States were mandated to use a centralised digital platform for the collection and sharing of information related to port calls.

If we are talking about enhancing capacity and efficiency within our ports, the Maritime Single Window is key to streamlining port procedures.

Despite the January deadline, the IMO reported that South Africa only began to lay the groundwork to establish an MSW in September last year when the international body co-hosted a workshop with the Department of Transport. The workshop was attended by TNPA, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the Border Management Authority (BMA) as well as members of the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents (SAASOA).

Co-authors of a paper on digitisation of ports in Africa released by the Africa Transport Policy Program (SSTP), Pascal Ollivier and Olivier Hartmann sat on a panel to discuss the MSW at the AHMCC.

Ollivier of the World Bank noted that the organisation had reported severe challenges associated with the implementation of the MSW and had instituted a programme to provide assistance, which he urged South Africa to join.

Olivier Hartmann’s presentation unpicked the notion that sitting on the sidelines of implementation was an option and told the harbour masters; “This is your convention to alleviate bottlenecks of arrivals in ports!”

According to him, at least 14 African countries have not ratified the FAL Convention. “You cannot optimise port calls if you do not have access to data. This is an opportunity to reduce turnaround time of vessels in ports,” he said emphasising the need for Transport Ministries to engage meaningfully on the subject.

“It is not a fun journey, but we have a lot to do,” he concluded after outlining some of the challenges, including cyber security that impact on the effectiveness of implementation.

While South Africa lags, Hartmann provided insight into African countries that have ratified the FAL Convention and how countries such as Kenya, Tunisia, Ghana, Morocco, Djibouti, Mauritius and Angola are positioning ownership within their government structures.  

For the Harbour Master of Walvis Bay, Namibia, Lukas Kufuna, the process to implement a MSW has been challenging, and he admitted that high level governmental support was needed that required significant capacity building initiatives.

 “Wide consultation is needed with all the main stakeholders. Meeting face-to-face to talk through the process takes time, effort and patience,” he admitted adding that it was imperative for harbour masters to own the process to build trust.

Questions remain

It’s difficult to cover everything within a finite programme, but I was disappointed at the lack of feedback on the progress being made to corporatise TNPA at the conference. The welcome address by Acting CEO, Advocate Phyllis Difeto should have at least paid some lip service to this topic.

We were told last year that the legislated requirement to corporatise the port authority would be finalised by the end of April, but we continue to hear excuses. We need to point and call this out. There are no clothes on this one.

Having covered the engagements within South Africa’s Parliamentary Portfolio Committees and noting the lack of focus on topics such as the country’s implementation of the MSW as well as the process of corporatisation of TNPA, one wonders whether committee members should be mandated to attend industry conferences such as the AHMCC.

Armed with information such as this and gaining insights from the questions asked at conferences, portfolio committees would be well-positioned to align their oversight with the urgent issues identified in real time by industry stakeholders.

This is the first in a series of articles looking into important topics impacting on the South African maritime industry.  

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