M.B.A. / Competitiveness is defamed as ensuring that the port and transportation system can meet the requirements of its users. For the port to compete successfully for business in both domestic and international markets, it must have the ability to move people and cargo efficiently, reliably, and at a reasonable cost, without infrastructure impediments or congestion delays. Competitiveness is the key aspect that influences the meaningful participation and survival of the South African port system within the global environment. For exporters and importers, competitiveness translate into a demand for intermodal services that provide speedy and efficient movement of cargo through ports and terminal transfer facilities to land side transportation. It also translates into a demand for ready access to the transportation information that is needed by all players within the maritime environment. There is a strong belief and a sense of urgency among some port stakeholders in South Africa, who maintain that there is not enough spending on construction, operations and maintenance for ports. The following capacity issues will influence the future competitiveness of the port system and infrastructure: • Technological advancements in terms of processes and systems; • Hinterland connections; • Infrastructure usage in and around the ports; • Increasing dredging requirements. Thus, there is a need to improve the productivity, throughput capacity and accessibility to meet the expected growth in international trade. The port authority's tariffs in future should be based on the principles of user pays, cost-based tariffs and adequate return on capital employed. The South African port system should remain financially autonomous and not require subsidization from the State.

Thesis (Masters Diploma (Engineering))--Cape Technikon, 1997 / The idea for this study occurred when movement of the caisson extension to the breakwater was observed. The major concern was, what would happen if the caisson breakwater extension failed? What would the financial implications be to the port? The CSIR have carried out a number of studies with regards to the safety of the structure. The consequences of caisson failure and the possible effects on the port were however not investigated. When it was determined that settlement was taking place, information concerning the condition of the caisson structure and factors influencing the structure were gathered. Investigations on the following were done: (a) Extent of caisson settlement. (b) Sediment movement around the structure. (c) Foundation condition. (d) Wave impacts of long and short period waves on the Ben Schoeman Dock in the event of caisson failure. (Refraction and diffraction). (e) Financial implications due to possible container operation downtime at Ben Schoeman Dock in the event of caisson failure. (f) The tourist potential of the structure. The conclusion reached in this study was that the Ben Schoeman Dock would not be adversely effected if partial or complete failure of the main breakwater should take place. One could even question the length of the extension and whether it was actually required. The recommendations of this study would be as follows follows: Maintain the caisson extension in good condition as it will be important for possible future extensions to the port. Develop the breakwater as it is an asset which has potential for tourism to Cape Town.

Ports are the backbone of the economy of countries endowed with shorelines and they spearhead foreign trade through the importation and exportation of goods to and from their domestic markets. The newly constructed Port of Ngqura will be the outlet for exports of semi-finished and finished goods produced in the Coega IDZ and will also receive raw material to be processed. Its position at the center of the world’s main trade routes, equidistant from American, European and the Pacific Rim regions makes the Coega IDZ the ideal location for any manufacturer adding value to raw materials, components and producing goods bound for the world markets. Traditionally the ports have been developed and operated by the government enterprises. Recently all these are changing in many countries all over the world, with more private participation in the development and operations of the ports. This evolution has entrusted Port Authorities in taking control over port planning, broad regulation of shipping and port operations, applying conventions, laws and rules. South Africa is no exception to these winds of change, hence the adoption of the new port bill in managing all ports in the country. The Port of Ngqura will then serve as a benchmark for all other ports, with a new management structure which will help the port to be efficient. The study addresses the model for the efficient strategic management of the Port of Ngqura. The model looks into placing the Port of Ngqura ahead of its competitors through efficiency in port management and operations. Efficient ports are catalysts, facilitators and attractors of international sea borne trade. Competitive efficiency is achieved by employing the best suited port equipments, facilities and technology to cater for customer’s needs and requirements. A successful port must be able to constantly adopt new roles in order to cope with the ever changing market environment.

The shipping industry is reliant on port authorities for the facilitation of safe entry and departure of ships at the ports. This role can not be fulfilled without the assistance of harbour tugs which are run by the marine operations section of the Transnet National Ports Authority. The tugs have to be safe and efficient in the process of pulling and pushing ships around the harbour. Harbour tugs are expensive to acquire and to maintain. The marine operations business has to make appropriate choices of tug propulsion design in order to realise the benefits of the tugs acquired by the ports authority. This can be achieved by analysing the current tugs that the operations are using, which will then serve as valuable information when the time for asset replacement is due. The researcher chose to use the two tug propulsion designs currently used by the Port Elizabeth harbour tugs as a basis for this analysis. The analysis links the three factors of maintenance management, equipment efficiency and equipment safety, to the minimisation of operational costs as perceived by the tug personnel, the pilots and the marine managers. This study seeks to verify the link between these factors and the perceived minimisation of operational costs. Available literature was reviewed and data was collected using a suitably designed questionnaire for this research. This research paper has led to recommendations that should inform the tug acquisition decisions and raise the awareness of the marine employees to relate the factors set out above to minimise operational costs.

From Ch. 1: The object of this study is to consider the utilisation of East London Harbour and its relative importance in the South African import and export trade to 1975. The principal harbours of the Republic of South Africa are Table Bay (Cape TOwn), Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth), Buffalo Harbour (East London) and Durban, and Walvis Bay in South West Africa. Small harbours suitable only for coastal shipping are Mossel Bay, Simonstown, Lamberts Bay, St. Helena Bay and Port Nolloth in the Republic and LUderitz in South West Africa. Two harbours, Saldanha Bay and Richards Bay are at present being built. The ports of the Republic of South Africa and South West Africa are owned by the Government, are constructed, controlled and operated by the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, under the direction of the Minister of Transport, and are managed by the General Manager, whose headquarters are in Johannesburg.

The flourishing city of East London has received but scant attention from historians. Its importance has been overshadowed by that of Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth, each with a foundation bordering on the romantic. The introduction to this thesis indicates traces of the existence of primitive man in these parts. The historical survey will commence with notices taken of the region by nautical and land expeditions in search of either shipwrecked sailors, or news of native races. The first serious notice of East London taken by the white people came in the time of Sir Benjamin D'Urban who sought a seaport for his new province of Queen Adelaide. Our port was opened in 1836 under the appellation of Port Rex, but faded into temporary insignificance, almost oblivion, with the reversal of Sir. B. D'Urban's frontier policy by Lord Glenelg and the abandonment of the new province in 1837. It was not destined to remain forgotten, for Sir Harry Smith at the end of 1847, saw in the mouth of the Buffalo River the same possibilities as had struck the advisers of Sir B. D'Urban. To him it was the future London of the East, and the connecting link between British Kaffraria and the world outside. From that time East London has grown steadily, and of recent years very rapidly. It is not proposed to carry this survey much beyond 1866 in which year British Kaffraria was annexed to the Cape Colony.

Thesis (MTech (Business Administration))--Cape Technikon, 2004. / The Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) facilitates the handling process ofImport and Export containers for the Western Cape and other regions. South African Port Operations (SAPO), a division of the transport parastatal Transnet, is the operator that handles container volumes through the terminal. Due to the nature of its operations, it focuses on service standards within the industry. The International Shipping Industry expects this container terminal to conform by providing the same operational standards and service they receive from other international ports. Container terminal efficiency and productivity were not providing a reliable and efficient service for vessels calling to CTCT. Delays became so endemic that the shipping lines instituted a seventy-five dollar congestion surcharge on each container being handled This surcharge was passed on to the consumer therefore increasing the logistical cost of goods and services. The fact that a shipping line was bypassing Cape Town altogether was an indication that the Terminal was experiencing difficulty in maintaining its port status as a prominent and efficient container terminal at the southern tip of Africa.

From the abstract: Fairy tales aside this study is an analysis of Port Elizabeth harbour development during its first half century from 1820-70. Despite the fact that Port Elizabeth quickly came to dominate Cape trade very little was actually done to improve its port facilities. Superficially the impression one gains from the available material is that everything was done by government not to develop a harbour at Algoa Bay. But the real question is: was harbour development really necessary at Port Elizabeth during the period under consideration? The answer must be no. The lack of facilities certainly did not hinder the massive expansion of wool exports that took place before 1870.

Transport undoubtedly occupies a most important place in the economic and commercial life of all countries. In this respect South Africa is no exception, and very briefly, the principal economic functions of transport are enumerated below. 1. Transport establishes communication between consumers and the producers of goods or services. 2. Transport facilitates the movement of persons between the place where they live and the place where they work - usually this is a daily procedure, but in South Africa it also entails the movement of large numbers of Natives from the Native Reserves to work for some months at a time either in the gold mines or in the several urban areas of the Union. 3. Transport makes geographical specialization possible, for agricultural or mineral resources will only be exploited, or specialized industries established, in a particular area, if the commodities produced can be transported to other parts of a country, or the world; and other capital and consumer goods brought to the producers living in the area of specialized production. 4. Transport faciitates industrial production because, of raw materials which come from many sources. Furthermore, transport enables the finished products of industry to be distributed to the markets in which they are sold. In all these cases, the efficiency of transport has to be measured not only in terms of its cost, but also in terms of its efficiency, which includes, inter alia, the time taken, the frequency of services, the safety of goods and passengers while in transit and the provision of various special services, such as the provision by railway undertakings of private siding facilities. This thesis will be divided into five parts, the first dealing with the technical and commercial development of the Buffalo Harbour. It has been decided to deal with the Harbour first because, not only has it been the focal point of the transport system of the Border Region since the latter part of the nineteenth century, but it has dominated the economic and commercial development of East London, as well as that of the Border Region as a whole. The second part deals with the evolution of the railway system from the 166 mile long East London and Queenstown Railway, to the present 1,110 miles of the Cape Eastern System. This historical chapter is followed by an analysis of the traffic of the Cape Eastern System. Part Three deals with the theory, practice, and economic consequences, of railway rating policy. Part Four is a detailed analysis of the goods traffic forwarded from, and received at East London in the period from 1st April, 1953 to 31st March, 1956. Part Five deals with roads and road transport. Finally, certain conclusions are offered, based on the significant points revealed by the investigation on which this thesis is based. In this thesis the theory of transport will not be dealt with in detail for it is essentially a factual account of the development of the transport system of the Border Region and an analysis of the present situation. It has unfortunately not been possible to make in this thesis a study of railway finance or railway economics with regard to the Cape Eastern System, for the data upon which to base such an investigation are not available for the Cape Eastern System in isolation. No attempt will be made to assess either the technical or the operating efficiency of the railway system for not only would this require more data than are available, but also a technical knowledge not possessed by the writer.

Based on literature review, statistics of waste management at ports in South Africa is hard to come by. The research critically assessed the current waste management practices at Transnet National Ports Authority. Transnet National Ports Authority, Port of Richards Bay (TNPA RCB) was used as a case study to examine the different types and quantities of waste produced, analysing the current waste management model as well as determining TNPA RCB compliance to pertinent waste legislation. A 10 day waste audit was conducted to obtain quantitative data and to identify the different types of waste generated. The baseline data resulting from the waste audit conducted for the first time since the establishment of the TNPA RCB, found 402 kg of general waste generated, 74 kg of this total is segregated for recycling and the remaining 328 kg is landfilled. The overall conclusion gained during compliance audit was that the TNPA RCB was partly compliant with pertinent waste legislation and obligations. Furthermore, questionnaires about waste were sent to staff members working in offices to get an overview of how they deal with current waste management. A number of barriers to sustainable waste management were identified, including: lack of knowledge and awareness; constraints on facilities and human resources; culture that resists change and contamination. To overcome these, there needs to be education, as well as co-operation between top management, staff and waste service providers to help implement new strategies. The primary conclusions from this dissertation are that there are opportunities to divert waste streams from landfill and to attain a sustainable waste management system at TNPA RCB. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)