Some time ago, the Port of Durban, South Africa’s busiest port, interrupted its operations due to civil unrest, robbery and violence in some parts of the country, and its business has just resumed. According to South African media reports, container operations have been disrupted again due to a suspected cyber attack on port operator Transnet.
Several major ports in South Africa, including Durban and Cape Town, were once again forced to shut down. Business at South Africa’s major ports has been paralyzed.
Terminal operator declares force majeure
South African state-owned terminal operator Transnet operates South Africa’s Major ports, including Durban and Cape Town, and an extensive rail network. South Africa’s ports and national freight rail lines have been severely damaged by days of unrest and violence in parts of the country.
The suspected cyber attack reportedly disrupted systems that track containers and organize movement in and out of the terminal. News outlet The Witness quoted a truck driver as saying: “Boats and trucks are unable to unload cargo at the port due to a ‘virus in the system.'”
In Transnet declared force majeure at the country’s main container terminal following the cyber attack, a document sent to customers on Monday said. The measure covers the ports of Durban, Nqula, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
Force majeure is a contractual provision invoked when factors beyond a company’s control prevent it from fulfilling its commitments to its customers.
The system failed, causing consequences for port container transportation had a huge impact.
The shipping company announced port jumping
According to satellite tracking, in Durban and Port Elizabeth The number of ships docked reached double digits and queues began to form outside Cape Town piers.
A local truckers association told customers that in No goods are expected to move into or out of Durban until the cyber attack is resolved.
Importers already struggling with shortages of key commodities will now have to wait longer for containers on these ships. At the same time, the problem has left shipping companies unable to quantify the delay.
Ships scheduled to call at South African ports are now sailing to neighboring countries or skipping their African port calls altogether. Ships have already started to bypass South African ports and more are now likely to jump port.
In view of this, Maersk announced the cancellation of the calling voyage:
As of Tuesday, Transnet’s official website was still down.
“Over the next few days, some applications may continue to run slowly and all operating systems will resume in a staggered manner to minimize further risk and disruption,” Transnet said in a statement.
However, some logistics operators said that the flow of containers has actually stopped.
Meanwhile, Transnet’s official website has been down since July 22, displaying error messages.
In addition, Maersk pointed out that it currently only accepts the export of refrigerated cargo, and the entire process is manual.
“We do not yet know when this will resume. For containers arriving by rail, it is currently uncertain when the rail system will open,” the shipping company added.
Transnet said in the notice that the company is Mitigation measures, including manual loading and unloading of containers, are in place to ensure continued operations at container terminals, albeit at a slower pace.
Downstream logistics companies are affected and goods cannot be shipped in and out
Sebenza Freight Services headquartered in Johannesburg company, is just one of many businesses affected by this attack.
The company’s operations manager, Tanja Steenkamp, said that they have been unable to successfully complete any port container sending and receiving operations. She said she had received a notification from South African Transport, which mentioned that the other party suffered a cyber attack and caused the IT system to go down.
Steenkamp said, “Our customers are unhappy, but there is nothing we can do about it.”
“>Freight company Sebenza mainly engages in air, sea, land and other logistics services, marine insurance, customs clearance and warehousing services. However, because the landline phone and website of South Africa Transport are paralyzed, Sebenza cannot track the relevant containers normally.
Logistics and transportation reliability has suffered a major blow
Gavin Kelly, CEO of the South African Road Freight Association, said:�, They are saddened and highly concerned about the cyber attack on South Africa’s national operating company.
“This not only causes serious delays, but also greatly affects the reliability of all forms of logistics and transportation, and road freight is the first to bear the brunt.” Kelly added that the port gate is now tight. With the closure tight, freight trucks can neither pick up nor unload cargo.
“The impact of this is obvious. Queuing times will be longer, deliveries will inevitably be delayed, and road congestion will further increase. Under emergency conditions, manual manual operations that are temporarily online The operational process will also cause more problems. More importantly, in the face of the civil unrest that broke out last week, various land transportation service providers have accumulated a large backlog of goods that cannot be delivered in time.”
The paralysis of the port will further aggravate the problem, making the distribution business fall into an unreliable and unpredictable dilemma, greatly reducing the execution efficiency of the entire supply chain.
He also emphasized that “the system must be adjusted to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again. In addition, an alternative system should be established – Even if the manual mode is changed, to ensure that goods can continue to enter and exit the port during an emergency.”
Reduced port competitiveness may affect South Africa’s economic development
Whether it is in terms of short-term impact or long-term prospects, all this will deal a serious blow to the country of South Africa.
“The operating conditions of our ports have been deteriorating over the past five years. In a report released by the World Bank earlier this year, Durban Port ranked Among the 351 ports assessed, it was listed as one of the three worst ports in the world. Cyber attacks will cause huge damage to the reputation of South Africa’s port services and even further threaten our country’s status as the import and export gateway for African goods.”
“If this problem cannot be solved urgently, international traders and shippers will inevitably choose other African ports instead of shipping goods through our ports.”
United Nations Secretary-General Steve Harris said that over the past year, the poor performance of other key supporters has made the operation of the South African National Transport Company difficult, causing company executives to be frustrated. It is difficult to maintain its leading position in Africa in its railway and logistics businesses.
Port paralysis not only affects the port’s competitiveness, but also Affect the normal operation of the shipping industry. Maritime transportation is worldwide. The paralysis of a country’s ports will not only affect its own shipping industry, but also affect the maritime freight and import and export of interested countries. It may even affect the management and allocation of shipping resources and the stability of the national shipping market.
A series of port paralysis periods have severely damaged the shipping industry, and the import and export trade closely related to it has also been deeply affected. During the delay period, some terminals that are still operating still charge port congestion surcharges and expedited fees from companies, and shipping companies will transfer these fees to the cargo owners, which will undoubtedly make things worse for the companies.
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