Durban harbour crisis: Anchorage times of 214 hours, berth times of 123 hours, and a queue of 33 vessels

The Port of Durban is facing an escalating crisis as operational challenges threaten to walk back years of work spent on improving the port’s efficiency.

ActionSA has submitted a Notice of Motion to the South African Parliament, calling for an open deliberation on the deteriorating condition of the port.

Parliament Members Alan Beesley and Malebo Kope said recent industry reports have pointed to declining performance at the port, with long queues and waiting times for ships.

“These reports show excessive average anchorage times of 214 hours, berth times of 123 hours, and a total Durban vessel queue of 33 vessels,” Beesley and Kope said in a joint statement.

“These operational challenges are placing immense pressure on the national supply chain, disrupting businesses across virtually every sector.”

According to Beesley and Kope, this has imposed unnecessary additional costs on thousands of small, medium, and large enterprises in South Africa.

The current crisis at the port is reportedly linked to a software transition which occurred at the Durban Gateway Terminal in mid-August.

Durban Gateway Terminal, also known as Pier 2, cautioned ships in advance that the change would cause delays.

As the terminal moved to the new Navis N4 operating system, the transition created a large container backlog, which has not been completely cleared more than a month later.

This comes nine months after operations at the terminal were taken over by Filipino port operator International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI).

“At a time of weak economic growth, South Africa cannot afford to keep scoring own goals,” Beesley and Kope said. “The unfolding crisis at the Port of Durban is one such own goal.”

“Parliament cannot sit on the sidelines while a strategic economic gateway deteriorates and businesses, jobs and livelihoods are placed under increasing pressure.”

Years of challenges at the port

60% of all container cargo in South Africa is handled through the Port of Durban, making it the largest and busiest shipping and container terminal in the country.

The port has consistently ranked among the worst in the world, placing last out of 403 ports in the World Bank’s Container Port Performance Index for 2020 to 2024.

It has experienced persistent issues of equipment failure, maintenance backlogs, road congestion, and weather disruptions, among others.

Over the years, these challenges have led to long queues and excessive anchorage and berth times for ships entering the port to drop off and pick up cargo.

Over the last few years, Transnet Port Terminals implemented a number of targeted interventions to clear container backlogs and improve performance at the Port of Durban.

These included the procurement of new port equipment and the structural maintenance and refurbishment of ageing machinery.

Last December, Transnet granted a 25-year concession to ICTSI to take over operations of Pier 2 at the Port of Durban, renaming it the Durban Gateway Terminal.

The partnership functions as a joint venture, with Transnet maintaining a majority 51% ownership of the terminal, while ICTSI holds the remaining 49% stake.

ICTSI has committed R12 billion in direct investments over the duration of the concession to upgrade port infrastructure, modernise equipment, and increase capacity.

Transnet and ICTSI aim to raise Pier 2’s annual handling capacity from two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) up to its maximum capacity of 3 million.

These interventions have borne some fruit, with the Port of Durban being ranked as the most improved port in the World Bank’s latest Container Port Performance Index for 2025.

The improvements in efficiency saw Durban move up to 398th out of 400 global ports, while the Port of Cape Town dropped down to last place in the 2025 index.

Now, however, the latest shipping backlog at the Port of Durban could invalidate much of these gains in improved port performance.