Transnet Port Terminals broke an all-time record through the loading of 1665 reefers of South African grapes, blueberries and plums destined for Europe, aboard the vessel Santa Clara, owned by Maersk.
A Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) team achieved the new record over the past weekend from the previous record of 1200 reefers.
“The reefer season is from October to April, a sensitive yet very critical operation for the country’s economy – and we take pride in the preparations we make to ensure that fruit is moved on schedule,” said Acting Terminal Manager Oscar Bochards.
He added that the new record was encouraging for the team considering the recent vessel performance at 63% improvement.
“Unfavourable weather conditions, including strong winds, could have impacted us negatively. However, the team and the collaboration with the customer, gave us a winning combination,” said Bochards.
Annually, the terminal moves over 180,000 reefers with a noted increase of 615 reefers gated per day this season compared to 395 last season. Agriculture remains a significant sector for South Africa, spurred by government initiatives to grow and develop farmers countrywide, both established and emerging.
Transnet Acting Group Executive Mohammed Mahomedy said: “This is in line with our growth strategy and our mandate to lower the costs of doing business in South Africa."
He added: "This is a huge economic contribution to our economy and it was made possible due to the unprecedented team work and integrated approach offered to the customer and in particular our farmers during the grape season and our collaboration and partnership with key partners such as Maersk."
For more information: 
Nompumelelo Kunene
Transnet
Email: Nompumelelo.kunene2@transnet.net
www.transnet.net