Text in English / This research project, within the context of security risk management in general and aviation security in particular, aimed to explore the impact of the application of international and local air cargo security regulations on South Africa, with specific reference to the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA). In South Africa, since the early 2000s, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has been the lead agency for dealing with and managing the needs for air cargo security. This oversight by SACAA culminated in 2009 with the promulgation of the SACAA Regulation commonly known as Part 108. Accordingly the primary research focus was on the impact Part 108 has had on the air cargo industry in South Africa. In addition, it compared the South African regulations with those of the USA and EU regulations; explored the compliance of the various roleplayers; sought to understand the enforcement of the regulations; and examined the effectiveness of the available security and screening methods. Furthermore, the research attempted to determine whether these regulations had any effect on preventing or deterring crime in the air cargo sector. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Security Management)

Text in English / This research project, within the context of security risk management in general and aviation security in particular, aimed to explore the impact of the application of international and local air cargo security regulations on South Africa, with specific reference to the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), as well as the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA). In South Africa, since the early 2000s, the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has been the lead agency for dealing with and managing the needs for air cargo security. This oversight by SACAA culminated in 2009 with the promulgation of the SACAA Regulation commonly known as Part 108. Accordingly the primary research focus was on the impact Part 108 has had on the air cargo industry in South Africa. In addition, it compared the South African regulations with those of the USA and EU regulations; explored the compliance of the various roleplayers; sought to understand the enforcement of the regulations; and examined the effectiveness of the available security and screening methods. Furthermore, the research attempted to determine whether these regulations had any effect on preventing or deterring crime in the air cargo sector. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Security Management)

This diploma thesis deals with the analysis of external risk factors consequences on goods regard to its characteristics, length and complexity of transport chains in national and international transport. This thesis looks at the methods of protection of goods together with process of loading, reloading, unloading, packaging, labelling, stowing and securing of goods for transportation, storage and handling. In the end it deals with the logistics chain of chocolate and its raw materials pointing at stress risks and its protection. The first chapter describes the significance of international transport and it defines goods characteristics, external risk factors and transport chains. The second chapter deals with technologies in logistics. The third and fourth chapter study packaging and system of protection. The fifth chapter contains information about cargo stowing and securing in means of transport. The last chapter deals with logistics chain of chocolate and its raw materials, starting with growing cocoa beans in Africa and ending in Czech retail store.

Les moteurs moléculaires permettent le transport actif de molécules et d’organelles le long de filaments polaires du cytosquelette de la cellule eucaryote. Les filaments peuvent s’organiser en réseaux parallèles, antiparallèles, ou désordonnés. Malgré son importance, l’influence de l’architecture du cytosquelette sur le transport de cargos par des moteurs moléculaires est souvent ignorée. Dans ce travail de thèse, nous avons utilisé des patrons surfaciques de nucléation pour contrôler la géométrie de polymérisation de filaments d’actine. Cette approche permet de reproduire in vitro les trois types de réseaux qui sont observés in vivo. En adsorbant des moteurs moléculaires purifiés à la surface de nano-billes fluorescentes (diamètre 200 nm), nous avons étudié le transport de ces cargos dans des réseaux antiparallèles émergeant de deux lignes de nucléation parallèles. Nous avons observé que les billes recouvertes de moteurs processifs HMM-V (Heavy Mero-Myosine V) génèrent des mouvements dirigés en direction du milieu du réseau où la polarité moyenne des filaments est nulle et où les billes s’accumulent. De plus, la distribution de positions des billes à l’état stationnaire peut être déduite des profils de vitesse et de diffu-sion des billes, indiquant que le transport actif suit un processus de convection-diffusion. Les billes recouvertes de moteurs non-processifs HMM-II (Heavy Mero-Myosine II) dé-montrent des comportements similaires. Cependant, bien que le gradient de vitesse des billes HMM-II soit plus important que pour les billes HMM-V au centre du réseau, le coeffi-cient de diffusion l’est bien davantage. Le centrage de ces billes est ainsi moins précis qu’avec la HMM V. A notre surprise, nous avons observé que la précision du centrage ne dépend pas de l’espacement entre les deux lignes de nucléation, donc de la taille du sys-tème. Le comportement des billes est décrit par un modèle à trois états dans lequel la bille sonde localement la polarité nette du réseau en se détachant et en se rattachant fré-quemment aux filaments. Une séquence stochastique de déplacements dirigés dans un état attaché aux filaments et d’explorations diffusives dans un état détaché, conduit à une marche aléatoire biaisée avec un coefficient de diffusion et une vitesse effectifs. Notre description physique indique que la précision du positionnement des billes dépend du gra-dient de polarité nette du réseau de filaments ainsi que de la distance moyenne de par-cours des billes dans l’état attaché à l’actine. Nos résultats démontrent ainsi le rôle clef que joue l’architecture du réseau de filaments sur les propriétés du transport. Dans la cellule, les moteurs moléculaires permettent également la réorganisation des filaments du cytosquelette. En ajoutant nos moteurs moléculaires en solution, nous avons observé qu’un réseau de filaments d’actine parallèles, polymérisés in vitro à partir d’une ligne ou d’un disque de nucléation, peut former spontanément des faisceaux oscil-lants. Ces oscillations ressemblent aux battements du flagelle du spermatozoïde. En parti-culier, le système génère des ondes de déformation transverses se propageant de la base à l’apex du faisceau oscillant à une vitesse de 0,5 µm/s. Au cours du temps, les faisceaux d’actine s’épaississent, ce qui conduit à un ralentissement de l’oscillation avec une période qui croît de 25 s à 40 s. De plus, nous avons observé que des faisceaux d’actine voisins sont capables de se synchroniser, comme c’est le cas entre les deux flagelles de l’algue Chlamydomonas. Notre système acto-myosine minimal permet donc d’imiter le battement de flagelles, bien que la nature des moteurs moléculaires et des filaments en jeu soit com-plètement différente. Ainsi, ce système fournit un nouvel outil pour étudier les propriétés physiques génériques du battement flagellaire. / Molecular motors navigate the cytoskeleton to position vesicles and organelles at specific locations in the cell. Cytoskeletal filaments assemble into parallel, antiparallel or disordered networks, providing a complex environment that constrains active transport properties. Using surface micro-patterns of nucleation-promoting factors to control the geometry of actin polymerization, we studied in vitro the interplay between the actin-network architec-ture and cargo transport by small myosin assemblies. With two parallel nucleation lines, we produced an antiparallel network of overlapping filaments. We found that 200nm beads coated with processive myosin V motors displayed directed movements towards the mid-line of the pattern, where the net polarity of the actin network was null, and accumulated there. The bead distribution was dictated by the spatial profiles of bead velocity and diffu-sion coefficient, indicating that a diffusion-drift process was at work. Interestingly, beads coated with skeletal heavy mero-myosin II motors showed a similar behavior. However, although velocity gradients were sharper with myosin II, the much larger bead diffusion observed with this non-processive motor resulted in less precise positioning. Strikingly, bead positioning did not depend on the spacing between the nucleation lines. Our observa-tions are well described by a three-state model of bead transport, in which active beads locally sense the net polarity of the filament network by frequently detaching from and re-attaching to the filaments. A stochastic sequence of processive runs and diffusive search-es results in a biased random walk with an effective drift velocity and diffusion coefficient. Positioning relies on spatial gradients of the net actin polarity, as well as on the run length of the cargo in the attached state. Altogether, our results on a minimal acto-myosin system demonstrate the key role played by the actin-network architecture on motor transport. Molecular motors can also deform and reorganize the cytoskeleton. Adding heavy mero-myosin II or V in bulk, we observed that parallel networks of actin filaments emerg-ing from a nucleation line or disk can self-assemble into bundles that beat periodically like the flagellum of the spermatozoid. In a preliminary analysis, we observed waves of defor-mation travelling from the base to the tip of the bundle at a speed of 0,5 µm/s. As time went by, the bundles grew thicker, resulting in an increase of the beating period (range: 25-40 s). In addition, neighboring actin ‘flagella’ were able to synchronize, as observed in vivo for instance with the the two flagella of the algae Chlamydomonas. Our minimal acto-myosin system thus mimicked key properties of microtubule-based flagellar beating, de-spite the different nature of the motors and cytoskeletal filaments involved. This system thus provides a new tool to study the generic physical properties of flagellar beating.

This master‘s thesis pertains to the design of a cargo truck with battery electric drivetrain. The presented design offers a solution which respects the technical requirements of such a vehicle, ergonomic needs of its crew, and demands on the aesthetics of a modern commercial vehicle. In consideration of the chosen drivetrain, this solution is proposed as a concept with an outlook of 10 to 15 years in the future. In keeping with the specified goals, this vehicle offers a novel appearance which attempts to characterize the electric drivetrain with certain visual elements, includes solutions that are readily available or currently in development, and optimizes ergonomics for maximum user comfort and safety.

Modern stream processing engines usually use the Java virtual machine (JVM) as execution platform. The JVM increases portability and safety of applications at the cost of not fully utilising the performance of the physical machines. Being able to use hardware accelerators such as GPUs for computationally heavy analysis of data streams is also restricted when using the JVM. The project Continuous Deep Analytics (CDA) explores the possibility of a stream processor executing native code directly on the underlying hardware using Rust. Rust is a young programming language which can statically guarantee the absence of memory errors and data races in programs without incurring performance penalties during runtime. Rust is built on top of LLVM which gives Rust a theoretical possibility to compile to a large set of target platforms. Each specific target platform does however require a specific configured runtime environment for Rust’s compiler to work properly. The CDA compiler will run in a distributed setting where the compiler has to be able to reallocate to different nodes to handle node failures. Setting up a reassignable Rust compiler in such a setting can be error prone and Docker is explored as a solution to this problem. A concurrent thread based system is implemented in Scala for building Docker images and compiling Rust in containers. Docker shows a potential of enabling easy reallocation of the driver without manual configuration. Docker has no major effect on Rust’s compile time. The large Docker images required to compile Rust is a drawback of the solution. They will require substantial network traffic to reallocate the driver. Reducing the size of the images would therefore make the solution more responsive. / Moderna strömprocessorer använder vanligtvis Javas virtuella maskin (JVM) som plattform för exekvering. Det gör strömprocessorerna portabla och säkra men begränsar hur väl de kan använda kapaciteten i den underliggande fysiska maskinen. Att kunna använda sig av hårdvaruaccelerator som t.ex. grafikkort för tung beräkning och analys av dataströmmar är en anledning till varför projektet Continuous Deep Analytics (CDA) utforskar möjligheten att istället exekvera en strömprocessor direkt i den underliggande maskinen. Rust är ett ungt programmeringsspråk som statiskt kan garantera att program inte innehåller minnesfel eller race conditions", detta utan att negativt påverka prestanda vid exekvering. Rust är byggt på LLVM vilket ger Rust en teoretisk möjlighet att kompilera till en stor mängd olika maskinarkitekturer. Varje specifik maskinarkitektur kräver dock att kompileringsmiljön är konfigurerad på ett specifikt sätt. CDAs kompilator kommer befinna sig i ett distribuerat system där kompilatorn kan bli flyttad till olika maskiner för att kunna hantera maskinfel. Att dynamiskt konfigurera kompilatorn i en sådan miljö kan leda till problem och därför testas Docker som en lösning på problemet. Ett trådbaserat system för parallell exekvering är implementerat i Scala för att bygga Docker bilder och kompilera Rust i containrar. Docker visar sig att ha en potential för att möjliggöra lätt omallokering av drivern utan manuell konfiguration. Docker har ingen stor påverkan på Rusts kompileringstid. De stora storlekarna på de Docker bilder som krävs för att kompilera Rust är en nackdel med lösningen. De gör att om allokering av drivern kräver mycket nätverkstrafik och kan därför ta lång tid. För att göra lösningen kvickare kan storleken av bilderna reduceras.

The field of biomedical sciences has been expanded through the introduction of a novel cohort of soft and intelligent microrobots that can be remotely operated and controlled through the use of external stimuli, such as ultrasound, magnetic fields, or electric fields, or internal stimuli, such as chemotaxis. The distinguishing factor of these microrobots lies in their propulsion system, which may encompass chemical, physical, or biohybrid mechanisms. Particularly, microrobots propelled by motile cells or microorganisms have found extensive usage because they combine the control/steerability and image-enhancement capabilities of the synthetic microstructures with the taxis and cell-interaction capabilities of the biological components. Spermatozoa (sperms), among other types of motile microorganisms and cells, are promising biological materials for building biohybrid microrobots because they are inherently designed to swim through complex fluids and organs, like those in the reproductive system, without triggering negative immune responses. Sperms are suitable for a variety of gynecological healthcare applications due to their drug encapsulating capability and high drug-carrying stability, in addition to their natural role of fertilization. One objective of this project is to help sperms reach the site of fertilization in vivo where the sperm count is low (20 million sperm per mL), a condition known as oligospermia. In order to reach this goal, we are developing alternative strategies for transporting a significant number of sperms, as well as improving the functionality of sperm-hybrid microcarriers. Here, we use a thermoresponsive hydrogel made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and a non-stimuli-responsive polymer (IPS photoresist) to create four dimensional (4D)-printed sperm-hybrid microcarriers via two-photon polymerization (TPP). We present a multifunctional microcarrier that can: i) transport and deliver multiple motile sperms to increase the likelihood of fertilization, ii) capacitate/hyperactivate the sperms in situ through the local release of heparin, and iii) assist the degradation of the hyaluronic acid (HA), present in extracellular matrix (ECM) of oocyte-cumulus surrounded the Egg. HA degradation occurs through the local action of hyaluronidase-loaded polymersomes (HYAL-Psomes) that have been immobilized on the microcarrier's surface. Dual ultrasonic (US)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging technology can also be used to visualize a swarm of microcarriers, making them ideal candidates for upcoming in vivo applications. In addition, as a second objective, we demonstrate that similar sperm-hybrid microcarriers can be utilized to deliver targeted enzymes and medication for the treatment of gynecological cancer. As proof of concept, we show that combined therapy using enzymes and anti-cancer drugs is an appealing strategy for disrupting the tumor tissue microenvironment and inducing cell apoptosis, thereby offering a more effective cancer therapy. To achieve this, we functionalize the microcarriers with polymersomes loaded with enzymes (such as hyaluronidase and collagenase) and anti-cancer drugs (such as curcumin), respectively, and demonstrate their cargo-release capability, enzyme function, and therapeutic effect for targeting cervical cancer cells in vitro.:Abstract iv 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivation 1 1.2 Objectives 3 1.3 Structure of this dissertation 4 2 Background 5 2.1 Introduction on additive manufacturing technology 5 2.2 Direct laser writing (DLW) based on two-photon polymerization 6 2.2.1 Writing principles of two-photon lithography 8 2.2.2 Available materials for two-photon lithography 9 2.2.3 Engineering (Preprogrammed designs) 12 2.3 4D Lithography 13 2.3.1 Biodegradable microrobot 13 2.3.2 Stimuli-responsive micromotors 15 2.3.3 Other 4D-printing approaches 17 2.4 Motion at the microscale (Micromotility) 21 2.4.1 Physical propelled micromotors 23 2.4.2 Chemical propelled micromotors 32 2.4.3 Biohybrid micromotors 34 2.5 Other two-photon polymerized microrobots and their biomedical applications 35 2.5.1 Functionalized carriers 36 2.5.2 Multiple-cell carrying scaffolds 38 2.5.3 Single particle and cell transporters 39 2.6 Comparison of 3D and 4D-lithography with other fabrication methods 42 3 Materials and methods 44 3.1 Synthesis and fabrication 44 3.1.1 Synthesis of PNIPAM 44 3.1.2 Fabrication of microcarrier 44 3.1.3 Preparation of sperm medium and sperm solution 45 3.1.4 Preparation and composition of different body fluids 45 3.1.5 Fluidics channels 46 3.1.6 In situ preparation of microcarriers and sperms 46 3.1.7 Loading of microcarriers with heparin 46 3.1.8 Synthesis of block copolymers (BCPs) 47 3.1.9 Fabrication of Empty-Psomes A and D 48 3.1.10 Preparation of Curcumin complex CU(βCD)2 and calibration curve 49 3.1.11 Fabrication of cargo-loaded Psomes with enzymes and antitumoral drug 50 3.2 Characterization 51 3.2.1 MTS-Assay 51 3.2.2 Toluidine blue assay 52 3.2.3 Characterization of Empty-Psomes A and D: pH cycles and pH titration by dynamic light scattering (DLS) 53 3.2.4 Characterization of cargo-loaded Psomes with enzymes and antitumoral drug 54 3.2.5 Loading efficiency of HYAL-Psomes 55 3.2.6 Loading efficiency of MMPsomes 56 3.2.7 Loading efficiency, stability and release study of CU(βCD)2-Psomes 57 3.2.8 Size and polydispersity analysis of cargo-loaded Psomes in different simulated body fluids by DLS 58 3.2.9 Conformation and stability study of cargo-loaded Psomes in different simulated body fluids by asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF4) 59 3.2.10 Immobilization of the cargo-loaded Psomes on the surfaces 61 3.2.11 Enzymatic assay of HYAL for enzyme activity measurement 62 3.2.12 Enzymes assay in different simulated body fluids 64 3.2.13 Stability study of RhB-HYAL-Psomes in different pH 65 3.2.14 Calculation of the magnetic field flux of an external hand-held magnet 66 3.3 Temperature actuation and imaging 67 3.3.1 Temperature actuation test of PNIPAM and video recording 67 3.3.2 Hybrid ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) Imaging 67 3.4 Other useful information 68 3.4.1 pH and temperature through the female reproductive tract 68 3.4.2 Calculation of the light-to-heat conversion during imaging process 69 4 Multifunctional 4D-printed sperm-hybrid microcarriers for assisted reproduction 72 4.1 Background 72 4.2 Concept and fabrication of the 4D-printed microcarriers 74 4.3 Sperm coupling and geometrical optimization of microcarrier 77 4.4 Characterization of the 4D-printed streamlined microcarriers 78 4.5 Microcarrier loaded with heparin for in situ sperm capacitation 82 4.6 Microcarriers decorated with HYAL-Psomes for in situ degradation of the HA-cumulus complex 86 4.6.1 Immobilization of HYAL-Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 89 4.6.2 Qualitative study of cumulus cell removal 90 4.7 Sperm-microcarrier motion performance in oviduct-mimicking fluids 91 4.7.1 Capture, transport, and release of sperms 92 4.7.2 Sperm-microcarrier motion performance on ex vivo oviduct tissue 93 4.8 Tracking of a swarm of microcarriers with a dual ultrasound (US) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging system 95 4.9 Summary 96 5 Polymersomes-decorated micromotors with multiple cargos for gynecological cancer therapy 98 5.1 Background 98 5.2 Characterization and size quantification of Psomes before and after loading of cargoes by DLS, and Cryo-TEM 103 5.3 Characterization and size quantification of cargo-loaded Psomes by DLS, and Cryo-TEM in different simulated bodily fluids 104 5.4 Immobilization and characterization of cargo-loaded Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 106 5.5 Immobilization and characterization of dual cargo-loaded Psomes on the microcarrier’s surface 108 5.6 Investigation of ECM degradation and antitumoral effect of cargo-loaded Psomes 110 5.7 Magnetic and bio-hybrid guidance of microcarriers toward targeted cargo delivery 115 5.8 Summary 117 6 Conclusion and Outlook 119 6.1 Achievements 119 6.2 Outlook 121 Bibliography I List of Figures and Tables XXI Acknowledgements and funding XXIV Scientific publications and contributions XXVI Curriculum Vitae XXVII

Thesis (M.Tech.: Business Administration)-Dept. of Management, Durban University of Technology, 2006 ix, 154 leaves / The challenges of the 21st century have influenced the transportation of growing cargo volumes at ports that intercept major shipping routes along the coastline of Southern Africa (McCan, 2003:32-34). In view of these challenges, rivalry between ports along the coast of Southern Africa has increased (Nevin, 1998:27-28). Empirical research focuses on the financial management, management processes and competitive attributes at the port of Durban, South Africa. The primary objective investigates the impact that the nature of port administration had on the competitiveness of the port.

The World Trade Centre terror attack in 2001 changed the world and with it the conditions for logistics world-wide. The aftermath to the attack brought needed attention to the vulnerability of modern supply chains. This vulnerability can in many cases be described as “unwanted effects” in the supply chain, caused by either internal or external forces that create disturbances larger than the supply chain is designed to handle. The disturbance can be unintentional or deliberate and also either legal or illegal. This thesis addresses the problem of deliberately caused (antagonistic) and illegal action against legal logistics. There are basically two types of illegal and antagonistic threats to logistics, theft/sabotage and smuggling. The theft/sabotage problem is directly aimed toward the logistics activities, while smuggling abuses the logistics system for illegal purposes. The reasons behind these problems can vary from case to case as well as the different countermeasures to prevent these problems to occur. This thesis addresses only this problem in the transport network and sees the network as a part of a supply chain. In each part of the transport network there is a certain risk associated with the goods. All these risks together form the total risk for the transport or the transport network. The research in this thesis follows the tradition in logistics to use a system approach to treat the research questions. The system approach also implies a top-down perspective on the system, or in this case the two systems, but the research questions address only the cross-over points between the two systems. The main method for this thesis is deductive. Both primary and secondary data are used to support the deductive and theoretical conclusions. This thesis is also based on the result of five different studies within this topic. The perpetrators’ decision process is the key issue to understanding the usage of antagonistic gateways in the transport network. The preferred risk management approach is therefore contextual instead of statistic, when preventing the usage of antagonistic gateways. In other words, the countermeasures need to be based on an understanding of this decision process, the antagonistic dynamics of potential perpetrators. This understanding is to a large part also an understanding of the context in which the perpetrators act. The difference in perpetrator context is easily described with the difference between regular cargo thieves and ideology-driven perpetrators or terrorists. The thieves are after the monetary value that the cargo represents, therefore they prefer to steal high-value, untraceable and highly demanded products. The ideological perpetrator or terrorist wishes to make a statement with the attack, therefore he will sabotage products, which will give the statement attention and (if possible) understanding for it. If a potential terrorist desires to finance an upcoming terrorist attack by means of cargo theft, the perpetrator will act as a regular cargo thief. This difference in perpetrator context is vital for applying the right type of countermeasures in the transport network. Security against these types of antagonistic threats in the transport network aims to alter the contextual perception of the network and thereby reduce the problem of antagonistic gateways. / <p>PAPER A: Cargo theft from supply chains: Crime displacement in logistics, Daniel Ekwall. Earlier version presented at ASIS, Security Solutions for the Future Copenhagen 17-20 April 2005. Submitted to:</p><p>Supply Chain Management: An International Journal. PAPER B: Differences in Black and White Logistics System Design, Daniel Ekwall.</p><p>Submitted to: International Journal of Physical Distribution &amp; Logistics Management. PAPER C: The role of temporary storage in a supply chain perspective, Daniel Ekwall. Submitted to: The International Journal of Logistics Management. Licentiate seminar will be held at 1 p.m., 12 January, 2007</p><p>in lecture room M402, Allégatan 1, Borås,</p><p>for the degree of Licentiate of Engineering.</p>

Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transnet, the entity responsible for port infrastructure and the operating thereof, are faced with the difficult task of ensuring that the port system in South Africa is always ready to cater to all import and export requirements of the country. A major portion of these volumes will enter and leave the country in the form of containerised cargo, which effectively unitises the cargo for easier handling. What makes the task for Transnet that much more difficult, is that volumes are not easily forecasted and when one takes into account that ports need to be looking at least ten years down the line to ensure infrastructure can be put in place in time, it makes the problem that much more difficult. International studies show that trade between India, Europe and South America are growing, which provides South Africa with the opportunity to become a hub port based on the countries central location between these three areas. Currently Durban and the recently opened port of Ngqura are and will be serving as hub ports to cater for these and other volumes, but it is not certain under what conditions there would be a need for an additional hub port, if at all. Through the course of this research report three scenarios of growth are examined in an effort to answer this question. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Transnet, die entiteit verantwoordelik vir hawe-infrastruktuur en die werking daarvan, is met die moeilike taak geplaas om te verseker dat die hawe-stelsel in Suid-Afrika altyd gereed is vir al die invoer en uitvoer vereistes van die land. 'n Groot gedeelte van hierdie vereistes sal die land betree en verlaat in die vorm van houers, wat goedere unitiseer vir makliker hantering. Wat die taak vir Transnet soveel moeiliker maak, is dat die volumes nie maklik geskat kan word nie, en wanneer Transnet ten minste tien jaar in die toekoms moet skat om seker te maak dat die infrastruktuur in plek kan gestel word in tyd, maak dit die probleem soveel moeiliker. Internasionale navorsing dui dat die handel tussen Indië, Europa en Suid-Amerika groei, wat vir Suid-Afrika die geleentheid skep om 'n ‘hub port’ to word wat gebaseer is op die land se sentrale ligging tussen hierdie drie lande. Op die oomblik sal Durban en die onlangs geopende hawe van Ngqura, as ‘hub ports’ funksioneer om voorsiening te maak vir hierdie en ander volumes, maar dit is nie seker onder watter omstandighede sou daar 'n behoefte vir 'n ekstra-hub port wees nie. Deur die loop van hierdie navorsing word verslag gelewer van die drie scenario's, en word hierdie vraag ondersoek in 'n poging om hierdie vraag te beantwoord.