Transnet lifts force majaure, ready to service all clients

Transnet is lifting the force majeure which it declared on its ports following a cyberattack last week.

Operations came to a halt at all Transnet ports countrywide after the Navis 4 system, responsible for container handling, was hacked.

The port terminals operating division declared a force majeure at the container terminals in the ports of Cape Town, Durban, Ngqura, and Gqeberha.

To ensure continuity, Transnet proceeded with manual operations wherever it was possible.

But spokesperson Ayanda Shezi said the situation would return to normal from Monday.

“Transnet will be lifting the force majeure which had been declared at a number of our container terminals, this will be with effect from Monday 2 August. We believe that we are now in the position to service our customers and to reliably meet all our contractual obligations.”

Meanwhile, the attack has been described as a massive setback by the South African Association of Freight Forwarders.

The association’s Mike Walwyn is also the chairperson of the Cape Town Port Liaison Forum.

“There are many impacts. The most immediate one is a lot more work because what happens is that we are now chasing our tails trying to find places to put containers where we have no place to put them, trying to extract containers from the port for our customers who need them urgently and we can’t get them.”

With perishable food stuck in containers and freight trucks, it caused logjams and huge losses.

Walwyn added that rice and wheat imports may also be affected.