Durban, South Africa: DGT average daily throughput drops 30.5%, average vessel anchorage time reaches 212 hours

en.Wedoany.com Reported - As of September 10, the average daily throughput of Durban Gateway Terminal (DGT) at the Port of Durban, South Africa, over the past four weeks fell to 3,672 TEU, a decrease of 30.5% compared with the average daily level of 5,286 TEU over the previous four months. During the same period, waterside operations at the terminal were approximately 63% of the level in the same period of 2025, with vessel waiting at anchorage, container diversion, and reefer yard pressure continuing to affect terminal operations.

Between August 14 and September 10, vessels that had obtained berths waited at anchorage for an average of about 212 hours, equivalent to nearly 9 days; vessels that completed operations had an average berth time of about 125 hours. From September 7 to 10, the number of vessels waiting at anchorage fell from 10 to 5.

As of September 10, about 11,550 containers had been diverted to other operational channels to relieve pressure on the DGT terminal. Reefer area occupancy reached 106% on September 9 and fell back to 102% on September 10; overall terminal yard occupancy rose from 60.8% on September 7 to 64.4% on September 9, then fell to 63.2% on September 10.

Landside import container inventory continued to increase during the same period. From September 7 to 10, road import containers increased from 3,968 to 4,421, an increase of about 11%; the terminal gate completed an average of about 2,147 container in-and-out operations per day, with daily volumes fluctuating between 1,867 and 2,552 operations, while rail evacuation volumes also fluctuated during the same period.

After DGT switched to the independent Navis N4 terminal operating system in mid-August, weekly throughput once fell by about 26%. On August 25, overall terminal yard occupancy reached 89.2%, after which it gradually declined with import container evacuation and vessel diversion. The terminal previously said that the Navis N4 system had resumed stable operation, and that subsequent operational priorities would shift to clearing backlogged containers, increasing equipment availability, and restoring operational connections among waterside, yard, and landside evacuation.

Other container operating areas at the Port of Durban maintained operations during the same period. Pier 1 completed about 97% of planned throughput in the latest cycle, with vessels waiting at anchorage for an average of about 51 hours and an average berth time of 77 hours; waterside operations at the Durban Multi-Purpose Terminal increased by 158% month on month, completing 118% of the planned target, with an average vessel waiting time of about 89 hours.

DGT is jointly operated by Transnet and International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI). ICTSI formally participated in the management and operation of DGT on January 1, 2026, after acquiring a 50% minus 1 share stake in DGT for US$618 million, with the terminal operation target being Pier 2 of the Port of Durban container terminal.