Africa-Press – South-Africa. State-owned logistics company Transnet resumed operations at its Durban port on Wednesday morning after severe flooding in KwaZulu-Natal. The port’s operations had been suspended as a precaution.
Power utility Eskom, meanwhile, has said there will be no load shedding in eThekwini as the municipality grapples with the chaos caused by flooding. The country has faced a fresh bout of load shedding since Monday evening.
The flooding in KZN has destroyed homes, claimed over 250 lives, and caused damage to roads, containers, and trucks. The Road Freight Association said access roads were either damaged or closed as a precaution, causing disruptions in logistics.
A department statement released on Wednesday said after a section of a road in the Umhlathuzana near Marianhill in Durban was washed away, shipping would resume once safety is established for marine craft and vessel navigation.
The department said it was working with Transnet and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to repair roads following damage from the flooding.
“Priority interventions, in collaboration with the eThekwini Municipality and Transport Authority, include repairing Bayhead Road – which is the main access road to the container terminals at the port and Island View – and investigating alternative access roads into the port while Bayhead Road is being repaired,” the statement said.
According to the statement, Eskom also assisted the metro with repairs to damaged infrastructure, restored power to the Island View precinct overnight.
“Safety checks are being conducted before operations by customers can resume, as some customers’ facilities were damaged by the flooding. Eskom will not be implementing load shedding in the eThekwini municipality.”
According to the statement, there was no damage to Transnet’s pipelines infrastructure, and Transnet pipelines will continue supplying fuel to the inland market.
“Transnet Freight Rail is carrying out ongoing assessments on the rail network in Durban and surrounds to determine the extent of damage before any train services into and out of the port can resume. The North Coast, South Coast, and mainline from Durban to Pietermaritzburg remain closed.”
The statement said Transnet National Ports Authority rescued 80 people trapped in various flooded areas in Durban on Tuesday. Transnet’s operations in Richards Bay continued, although the terminals were operating less efficiently due to challenges in handling wet cargo.
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