Transnet Port Terminals – South Africa – declares Force Majeure

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), the State Owned Enterprise responsible for the operation of port terminals in South Africa has officially declared Force Majeure at the container terminals of Durban, Ngqura (Coega), Cape town and Port Elizabeth.

This declaration comes on the back of speculation that Transnet was the victim of a cyber attack, something that was not confirmed by TPT till the 26th of July 2021.

In a notice to customers, the Chief Executive of Transnet Port Terminals has confirmed that on the 22nd of July 2021, TPT experienced an act of cyber attack, security intrusion and sabotage, which resulted in the disruption of TPT’s normal processes and functions and/or the destruction or damage of equipment or information.

TPT has classified this breach as a Force Majeure event and has advised that while the issue continues to persist, investigators are determining the cause and extent of the ICT data security breach/sabotage.

Reuters is reporting that Transnet has mentioned in the notice that it was putting mitigation measures in place, including the manual loading and discharge of containers, to ensure continued operations at the container terminals although at a slower pace.

The IT disruption which happened on 22nd of July, affected the waterside operations and also gate in/out moves. Operations at all above terminals came to a halt and since then TPT has been following a manual process to move containers in and out of the port and on and off the ships in an effort to assist the customers with priority to reefer containers.

However, trucking delays, especially at the Port of Durban have increased with a few vessels already skipping the port of Durban

As of 26th July, it has been reported however, that there has been a limited restoration of TPT’s NAVIS system in Durban which is a positive development. It has also been reported that some limited landside activities have resumed while manual operations are underway on the waterside.

To assist the customers, TPT have also put in some specific import release processes for Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.

TPT has also reportedly communicated to its customers how they will treat berthing, imports and exports operations at the various container terminals as the disruption persists.

 

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