Andre Klynsmith

Ports and Terminals

From 115 Hours to 44: Cape Town Has Fixed the Numbers, Now the Fruit Season Tests Them

Average vessel waiting time at the Port of Cape Town has fallen from 115 hours to 44.3 hours, transport minister Barbara Creecy told a fresh produce industry engagement in mid-August, ahead of the 2026/27 deciduous fruit export season. Container volumes at the Cape Town Container Terminal rose 16% in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year compared with the same period a year earlier.

Ports and Terminals

25 August 2026 • 5 min read

Cape Town handles roughly 80% of South Africa's deciduous fruit exports. A terminal that has cut its vessel wait by more than 60% going into peak season is good news -- but peak is exactly when a terminal's improvements are measured, and Cape Town's oldest constraint, the wind, does not respond to new equipment.

The performance numbers

Average truck turnaround time has improved to 39.9 minutes, with year-to-date truck turnaround performance up 35%. Rail performance improved by 82%. Container terminal ship turnaround time came down from 103 hours in 2023/24 to 55 hours year to date in 2026/27, and average vessel anchorage waiting time has improved 65% over the past four financial years.

Creecy tied the gains to equipment. All 28 new rubber-tyred gantry cranes at the container terminal are now operational, and four additional straddle carriers received in June have completed endurance testing and been approved for operation. Ten permanently deployed shore tension units have reduced long-wave-related downtime at the terminal by 92% since 2023/24 -- a specific fix for a specific Cape Town problem.

What is being put in place for the season

Season preparation focuses on reefer plug-point capacity and the infrastructure needed to hold the cold chain while export cargo sits at the terminal. Transnet is working with the industry on vessel planning, cargo deliveries, stack management and recovery measures for weather disruption.

Extended windbound conditions remain the identified risk. The planned response includes reviewing vessel and berth schedules, adjusting reefer stack dates where operationally feasible, and aligning cargo deliveries with revised operating windows. Transnet Port Terminals is also exploring the use of Belcon, or another suitable intermediary facility, to hold export reefer containers temporarily and rail them into the container terminal.

Why this matters beyond the Western Cape

Nine of the eleven terminals at the Port of Cape Town are privately operated, and requests for proposals have been issued for a multipurpose terminal and a floating dock facility. The direction of travel is toward more private participation in terminal operations, which is the same reform pattern being applied at Durban and Ngqura. What happens at Cape Town this season becomes an evidence base for how that model is judged.

Creecy also made the point that the season's success depends on coordination across the whole chain -- shipping lines, exporters, packhouses, cold stores, transporters and service providers. That is a shared-responsibility framing, and it puts a specific obligation on hauliers: a stack date that moves is only useful if the transporter can actually move with it.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics -- with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com