July 2006 Issue

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LaserLink

• In this issue
• Overloading case ends in R90 000 fine
• Some deadlines to note
• Safari Service - Peak Season Surcharge
• New technology launched to fight road congestion
• New service between India and SA
• Two shipowners sign co-operation agreement
• Saecs vessel runs aground
• South African Port Operations
• Launch of RFID container seals imminent
• Tata's R650m smelter gets thumbs up
• Customs Updates
• On May 18, one of South Africas most serious
  cases of overloading was successfully concluded
  after two years, according to information
  released to FTNow by Briony Liber, socio-economic
  and environmental officer of N1/N4 toll road
  company, Bakwena Platinum Corridor
  Concessionaire.This case involved six overloaded
  trucks from ESO Trucking transporting cobalt ore
  from Zambia.They had entered SA at the
  Skilpadshek border post and were travelling along
  the Bakwena N4 toll road to Swartruggens before
  diverting off the highway at the Koster-Magalies
  Road on their way to Johannesburg.The six trucks
  were apprehended by officials of the North West
  Province department of transport and escorted to
  the Koster traffic control centre. Here they were
  weighed and each found to be overloaded by
  between 30-tonnes and 37.6-t - a combined
  overloaded weight in excess of 180-t.Add to
  that, said Liber, the owner of the vehicles was
  required to send six additional trucks to
  transport the overloaded portion of the loads.It
  ended with a R90 000 admission of guilt fine
  being agreed.
• Deloitte has warned importers of two pending
  deadlines
• Implementation of new SAD forms (1 October 2006)
  Implementation of HS 2007 (1 January 2007)

• A peak season surcharge (PSS) of USD 150 per TEU
  will apply to all import/westbound cargo moving
  on the Safari (Asia Southern Africa) services
  between 1 August and 30 November 2006. 
• The surcharge is required in order to partially
  offset the increased costs of deploying
  additional assets in order to cater for
  fluctuating seasonal demands, particularly in the
  months leading up to the Christmas period in
  South Africa when the trade experiences high
  demand for import space into South Africa.
• The South African National Roads Agency Limited
  (SANRAL) is to start a pilot project within the
  next two months on all the province's national
  roads, but focusing on the Ben Schoeman,
  involving Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
  This involves new technology using, amongst
  others, webcams, traffic monitoring devices and
  lit signs alerting motorists to pre-trip
  conditions such as accidents, weather and
  break-downs, giving them information about time
  delays and alternative routes.
• A new fully-containerised service linking India,
  the Indian Ocean Islands (IOI) and SA will be
  launched on June 26 by the Africa shipping
  specialists Delmas part of the CMA CGM
  group.The Delmas India-SA service (Dinsas) will
  call at Durban every 16-days.
• CMA CGM and China Shipping have signed a
  cooperation agreement for the launching of a new
  service between Asia and Europe from August
  22.This will allow both companies to rationalise
  their other existing services on the market. Each
  with four ships of 9 600- 9 400-TEU capacity, the
  new weekly service will operate on the Ningbo,
  Shanghai, Yantian, Hong Kong, Port Kelang, Le
  Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Port
  Kelang, Ningbo port rotation.
• The Safmarine Agulhas, a container ship deployed
  on the SA Europe Container Service (Saecs)
  second string, went aground off the port of East
  London. The vessel was bound for Durban and was
  approximately one kilometre off the port entrance
  when all engine power was lost. Strong winds from
  off the sea blew the vessel back towards the
  western breakwater but fortunately she ran
  aground on a sandbank at about 18.00, some 200m
  from the breakwater where she has so far resisted
  all efforts to be refloated.

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• South African Port Operations (Sapo) expects
  cargo volumes at its 14 ports to increase by 26
  over the next five years, says Vusi Khumalo, a
  senior manager in CEO Tau Morwes office.In the
  2004/5 financial year the port operator handled
  2,8-million twenty-foot equivalent containers,
  44-million tons of dry-bulk pro- ducts,
  12-million tons of break bulk, and 332 000
  vehicles.For the 2008/9 financial year, Sapo
  expects this to increase to 3,5-million
  containers, 60-million tons of dry-bulk products,
  12,5-mil- lion tons of break bulk, and 600 000
  vehicles.You can see that a large capital
  investment is required, notes Khumalo.The
  capital expenditure on the books for this
  (2006/7) financial year is R1,4-billion - with
  60 already placed, he adds. The capital
  expenditure budget for 2005/6 was more than a
  billion rands, but only R585-million was
  spent.Khumalo attributes this to delays in the
  procurement process.International lead times for
  some port equipment is around two years, for
  example.Over the next few years Sapo will spend
  capex on the acquisition of additional straddle
  carriers, three new gantry cranes, and on the
  refurbishment of the existing gantry cranes at
  the Durban container terminal.The Cape Town
  container terminal requires six new gantry cranes
  and 26 straddle carriers.Port Elizabeth harbour
  is to receive 11 straddle carriers, while the
  dry-bulk plant is also to be refurbished, says
  Khumalo.The port of Richards Bay, the coal
  export hub, requires additional ship loaders and
  unloaders, additional import and export conveyor
  routes, as well as extra shed capacity.The
  Durban and Richards Bay multipurpose terminals
  will see a shed expansion at Durban, with both to
  receive additional forklifts and handling
  equipment, as well as haulers and trailers.Both
  Durban and Port Elizabeth car terminals will also
  be expanded, with the Durban car terminal to be
  relocated to Salisbury Island by 2008, at a cost
  of R1,6-billion. The current terminal is already
  straining under demand, especially as Toyota is
  set to significantly gear up its vehicle exports
  from this year.The newly-built R4-billion port
  of Ngqura will house a new container terminal,
  which has to be equipped with ship-to-shore as
  well as gantry cranes.The ultimate aim is to
  reduce the cost for any customer doing business
  in South Africa, says Khumalo.

• A new radio frequency identification (RFID)
  container seal is set to be launched in the local
  market within the next three months. Thats the
  word from Aluvin MD, Kevin Norwitz, who sees
  immense benefit in the new E-seals.With this
  technology it is not only the location of the
  container that can be tracked, but the status of
  the seal as well, says Norwitz.
• Tata Steel is to proceed with the R650-million
  first phase of its ferrochrome plant in Richards
  Bay after KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural and
  Environmental MEC Gabriel Ndabandaba approved the
  project, said Tata Steel Human Resources
  Executive Thami Msubo. Planned production for the
  first phase of the ferrochrome plant is 134 000
  tons per annum During phase two of the project,
  which is still subject to an environmental
  assessment and approval, it is planned that
  ferrochrome production be doubled to 268 000 tons
  a year. It was planned that by the end of 2009,
  the second phase of the project would be
  commissioned, Msubo said
• Iron and steel duty change to note
• Effective since May 30 iron and steel products
  which the SA Revenue Service (Sars) lists under
  Chapter 72 of the harmonised tariff code are not
  liable for import duty joining those which
  already enter the country duty-free under the
  SA/European Union (EU) free trade
  agreement.According to Duane Newman, who heads
  up the indirect tax division of trade and customs
  consultants, Deloitte, the reduction in the duty
  follows an investigation by the International
  Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) into the
  general custom duties of Chapter 72.
• Should you have any enquiries please contact
  Jenny Iyer jenny_at_laserint.co.za tel.(27) (031)
  465 0577.
• The views and opinions expressed in these
  articles are those of the Authors and not
  necessarily those of Laser Logistics (Pty) Ltd or
  the Laser Group (Pty) Ltd, unless specifically
  indicated. While everything possible is done to
  ensure the accuracy of the information in this
  issue, which is believed to be correct, neither
  Laser Logistics (Pty) Ltd nor the Laser Group
  (Pty) Ltd, may be held responsible for any
  errors.