---
title: "Durban’s latest port crisis fuels doubt in Transnet tie-up with private sector"
description: "Switching to a new operating system last month sparked a series of delays at Durban harbour. So far, Transnet’s strategy of leaning on the private sector has not made for smooth sailing."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "SHORE THING"
author: "Holly Munks"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/holly-munks/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-29-durbans-latest-port-crisis-fuels-doubt-in-transnet-tie-up-with-private-sector/"
published: "2026-09-29T23:35:22"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 2161
---

# Durban’s latest port crisis fuels doubt in Transnet tie-up with private sector

> Switching to a new operating system last month sparked a series of delays at Durban harbour. So far, Transnet’s strategy of leaning on the private sector has not made for smooth sailing.

By Holly Munks · Published 30 September 2026, 01:35 SAST

## Key points
- A Navis N4 software switch at Durban’s Pier 2 triggered weeks of cargo delays, with terminal throughput falling about 30%.
- The disruption has exposed deeper problems: ageing equipment, weak rail links, truck congestion and only 37 of 110 gantry cranes reportedly operating.
- Pier 2 is taking nearly twice as long to clear vessels as Durban’s Pier 1, raising uncomfortable questions about Transnet’s 25-year ICTSI partnership.
- Transnet booked a R10.5-billion boost from the deal — but unless reliability improves, private-sector “efficiency” risks becoming an expensive promise.

## Content

Durban has an identity crisis. It is simultaneously a sleepy seaside enclave and also[Africa’s busiest port](https://businessday.ng/news/article/africas-five-largest-ports-by-cargo-volume-in-2026/). It is responsible for moving tonnes of goods into and out of the country on a daily basis, and by Transnet’s account, is “a premium gateway into Africa and the rest of the world”.

[FOR CONTEXT

The R145bn Transnet back brace to fix the spine of the South African economy

July 31, 2025 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/rphlaIOd8bQq8fJy3QRr3-cUbpg=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_20250729_134955.jpeg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-07-31-the-r145bn-transnet-back-brace-to-fix-the-spine-of-the-south-african-economy/)

One of the harbour’s major terminals is called Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT), or as the locals call it: Pier 2. Durban Gateway Terminal is the name of a new entity set up by Transnet, as part of a 25-year partnership with Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI), which came into effect at the start of this year.

In mid-August, Durban Gateway Terminal moved to a new operating system called Navis N4. The process should have been simple enough, but as data was being shifted to Navis, cargo came to a standstill.

However, delays have continued for more than a month after the planned 12-hour changeover period, with ripples felt across the harbour.

The Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff), which represents logistics companies and other stakeholders,[described the disruption](https://southafrica.savinodelbene.com/industry-updates/saaff-member-update-durban-gateway-terminal-dgt-1st-september-2026/) that ensued as “one of the most serious periods of operational constraint at Pier 2 in recent years”.

Not exactly an endorsement for the new Durban Gateway Terminal partnership, which ICTSI said would “enhance terminal productivity and increase throughput”.

### Struggling to stay afloat

Estimates vary, but according to data put together by Saaff, between 14 August (the day before the system changeover) and 10 September, the volume of cargo handled by the terminal was[about 30% lower](https://www.freightnews.co.za/article/dgt-throughput-remains-30-below-recent-average) than the average for the previous four months.

That’s a lot for what was framed as a mere administrative change, the whole point of which was to make things more efficient, not less.

Numbers like that matter when you consider that “almost all containers” going through Durban harbour go through Durban Gateway Terminal, according to the[KZN Department of Transpor](http://www.kzntransport.gov.za/public_trans/freight_databank/kzn/ports/Durban/index_xml.html)t.

“Containers handled at the terminal currently represent more than 60% of the total number handled at all South African ports,” Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s team estimated.

Shipping volumes have recovered somewhat since the initial bottleneck, but a Saaff report seen by Daily Maverick said: “The vessel backlog remains substantial and volatile.”

In the week to 13 September, volumes picked up by about 35% to 4,742 twenty-foot equivalent units a day, which is roughly 85% of the target, and marks the strongest weekly result since early August.

Still, Saaff reported: “Underlying landside throughput remains below pre-crisis levels: gate activity averaged 2,351 moves/day versus 2,847 previously, while rail evacuation averaged approximately 233 containers/day versus 477 before the crisis.”

### Issues below the surface

On 26 August, Durban Gateway Terminal said that the new system had stabilised, but warned that “continued equipment availability constraints mean a full return to normal fluidity will take some additional time”.

That’s little consolation to the transporters, logistics firms and companies with time-sensitive cargo that has not been unpacked, or has been re-routed to Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

If the point of working with ICTSI is “to unlock efficiencies through leveraging the private sector expertise”,[as Transnet said](https://www.transnet.net/PrivateSectorParticipation), why are technical difficulties bringing things to a halt in the first year of the partnership?

In mid-September, Durban Gateway Terminal issued a warning to say that waterside operations were on standby due to windy conditions. This being a notoriously windy time of year for Durban certainly has not helped the situation, as the Mediterranean Shipping Company[has pointed out](https://theloadstar.com/appeal-to-president-as-congestion-at-durban-box-terminal-hits-crisis-point/).

But bad weather has been an issue since people have known how to build boats, and any admin changes should be able to factor in choppy waters.

When underlying harbour management leaves something to be desired, small pauses in activity bleed into much bigger problems.

Lack of refurbishment for port equipment is a long-running concern. There is also still a reliance on trucks over rail, which exacerbates congestion issues.

Transnet has described its KZN Eastern Ports Master Plan as “a flagship project”, pointing directly to port and rail reforms as top of the agenda for government.

The Saaff reported in late August that a presidential delegation was headed to Durban to review the situation, but the government is yet to release an official statement about it.

Big plans have been made for Durban Gateway Terminal. Transnet and ICTSI in December pledged to increase its capacity to 2.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units, from two million.

But as Saaff explained: “Currently, inland capacity constraints and rail limitations pose a significant challenge. Expanding port infrastructure without addressing these bottlenecks risks shifting congestion rather than solving it.”

### Lightening the load

For the transition to Navis, Durban Gateway Terminal set up dedicated helplines. Late in August, it said it was working with Transnet Freight Rail to get more goods out by train.

It also said there were “longer-term equipment and infrastructure programmes already under way” and that it had “appealed to shipping lines to consider additional free time” given the fact that container ships had spent more time stuck at the terminal.

Durban Gateway Terminal is introducing a group import code collection process “for transporters with more than 20 containers assigned at the terminal”, which is designed to get goods on to trucks more quickly. Trucks with export appointments are now allowed to collect imports on the same visit – a practice that was paused temporarily in the heat of the crisis.

From 5 September, the terminal has required all export containers to confirm an appointment in advance of their truck’s arrival.

That might not be working as intended, however.

Donnaven Parmanand, imports team leader at[Savino del Bene](https://southafrica.savinodelbene.com/), a forwarding and logistics company whose clients use the port of Durban, told Daily Maverick that companies are booking appointments beforehand, only to arrive at the port and find that their booking has been cancelled.

What is the point of a system which does not work? The companies using the harbour have no interest in wasting time, which means they are ready to follow whatever instructions Durban Gateway Terminal gives them. If they can’t do that, the system is not fit for purpose.

[Media: "Chart: Durban handled nearly twice as many vessel arrivals as Cape Town in August 2026"](https://charts.dailymaverick.co.za/chart/648bdd33a3ce3d7f32696540)

### Competition among piers

According to Parmanand, the latest incident is fuelling speculation over what exactly is going on at Durban Gateway Terminal. Things seem to be going much better at Durban’s Pier 1, also known as New Pier, while Pier 2, or DGT, has been beset with delays.

According to Saaff, the average time at anchorage at Pier 1, as of 8 September, was 2.7 days, versus 5.8 days at Pier 2 – meaning it took nearly twice as long for cargo to move through the terminal that is meant to be new and improved, thanks to the ICTSI partnership.

“I find it very strange,” Parmanand said. The latest information he had was that only 37 out of Durban Gateway Terminal’s 110 gantry cranes, which are used to offload cargo, are operational.

Some companies have already rerouted shipments, and while Parmanand doesn’t see this as a long-term solution, he said businesses will “most definitely” look elsewhere if Durban Gateway Terminal continues to disappoint.

The fact that things are going fairly well in other sections of Durban’s port is a major indictment of Durban Gateway Terminal, and by extension, Transnet’s attempt to outsource the services to the private sector we expect from them. It also undercuts a statement from Transnet chief executive Michelle Phillips last year that Durban Gateway Terminal is “on an upward trajectory”.

### Finger-pointing

According to the ICTSI, the organisation was selected after “a rigorous and transparent procurement process”, which is part of “Transnet’s strategy to crowd in the private sector into selective and strategically identified areas of the business”.

But does that mean that when things go wrong, the blame drifts towards obscure entities with acronyms for names that no one can remember, such as DGT and ICTSI, rather than Transnet, a taxpayer-funded organisation with a remit to serve the public?

Phillips has defended the ICTSI partnership, saying that “private sector participation in ports has the potential to positively influence efficiencies, export processes and global competitiveness”.

So far, Durban Gateway Terminal has done little to convert that potential into reality, and is actually sending Durban lower in the estimation of the shipping industry.

It took two years from the time that Transnet selected ICTSI in 2023 to actually seal the deal, due to legal pushback from APM Terminals (read: part of the AP Moller-Maersk Group).

Some might say APM was sour because it lost out on the contract with Transnet – it was among the top 10 bidders to take over Durban Gateway Terminal, before ICTSI snagged the prize.

But APM argued that the decision was made unfairly.

In 2024, a[high court judge](https://www.logupdateafrica.com/shipping/south-african-hc-rules-in-favour-of-apm-in-durban-terminal-case-1353442) said:

> “Different allowances were made for the second respondent \[ICTSI\] that were not offered to other bidders…Transnet permitted a bidder that had not established its financial credentials to proceed to the further stages of the tender in which financial capacity was a central requirement.”

Transnet responded, saying that “the purpose of procurement … cannot be subverted by undue formalism and disqualification of tenders on the basis of immaterial non-compliance.”

As the judge pointed out at the time, considering Transnet itself came up with the criteria it is labelling immaterial, that is a pretty bizarre thing to say.

Set up in 1987, the ICTSI describes itself as “the world’s largest, independent terminal operator” and its stock, which is listed in New York, has risen 63% over the past year.

Though the ICTSI may have a 25-year contract in Durban, it operates in 19 other countries, which could take priority over Durban Gateway Terminal.

But if the shipping industry loses faith in Durban’s cargo management, there are serious consequences for the city and the South African economy.

Transnet has more of a responsibility to South Africans than an offshore partner ever will, and should not be allowed to pass the buck here, especially given that it[still controls just over 50%](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/transnet-records-profit) of Durban Gateway Terminal.

### The art of looking good on paper

It’s reasonable to ask what Transnet has to gain by choosing a partner that doesn’t deliver on its promises.

Whispers among the sources who spoke to Daily Maverick under the protection of anonymity echo the word “corruption” as the ultimate deal sweetener, but their anonymity and a general lack of material evidence make that a conclusion that cannot be reached.

Transnet, the ICTSI and Durban Gateway Terminal did not respond to our requests for comment.

What we do know for sure is that the deal with the ICTSI worked wonders for Transnet’s balance sheet.

In its 2026 financial year, Transnet reported a[swing to profit](https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/transnet-records-profit) of R4.6 billion, compared with the previous year’s R1.9 billion loss. It owed that improvement partly to the Durban Gateway Terminal deal, which was recorded as a R10.5-billion sale to the ICTSI.

That’s not incorrect or misleading, *per se*. About 49% of Durban Gateway Terminal was transferred to the ICTSI, in return for a hefty payment to Transnet.

But that doesn’t change the fact that Durban Gateway Terminal is part of Durban’s port infrastructure, and that Transnet has pledged to improve that infrastructure. Transnet chose the ICTSI to help operate the terminal, and Transnet is responsible if the terminal is not operating optimally.

The state logistics arm has emphasised the need core “to effectively manage the cost of doing business in South Africa”. But the cost argument quickly disintegrates if no business is actually being done.

### Overboard, overblown or overestimated?

The World Bank and S&P Global’s 2025 Container Port Performance Index ranked Durban as 398 out of 400 ports. It narrowly beat Cape Town, which was ranked 400th. This sounds worse than it actually is, though, as Daily Maverick reported in June, and there is still tentative hope that [South African ports are improving](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-28-main-south-african-ports-weather-storm-of-criticism-just-as-theyre-getting-better/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform&dm_position=15).

Both Durban and Cape Town technically came in the top third of international ports. Since there are an estimated 1,100 to 1,200 ports worldwide, it is the index that stops at 400.

In the company’s results presentation earlier this year, Transnet CEO Phillips did not deny that there was plenty of work still to be done.

Saaff said that “the overall message remains one of recovery rather than completion: operational and financial performance has improved materially, but sustained progress now depends on converting this recovery into structural improvements in capacity, reliability, infrastructure investment and reform”.

[ANALYSIS

SA turns right as Ramaphosa hands economic levers to the private sector

September 2, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/oVKecIYt8Yhn0Nm0717wQKLXA5k=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/orphans/SA-Rightwardvictory_350523.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-02-sa-turns-right-as-ramaphosa-hands-economic-levers-to-the-private-sector/)

On a positive note, turnaround times are not everything, and container throughput at South African ports has picked up in the year to date, based on Transnet’s estimates. Still, we wait for the results to show that cosying up to the private sector will pay off. **DM**