Durban Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) has achieved a record-breaking performance, exceeding 200,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), according to preliminary numbers of the last 12 months – the highest in its history. The actual annual volume target for the financial year ended March 2025 was 131,100 TEU.
Located adjacent to the busy Durban Container Terminals (DCT) and serving as its back-up, the Durban MPT has assisted in handling the overflow of containers to ensure fluidity. Managing Executive at the Durban Terminals, Earle Peters said, “This performance is testament to increased trade, an improving economy, the terminal’s growing capabilities and a dedicated workforce that ensures reliable cargo handling”. He added that over the last five years, the terminal had taken delivery of four reach stackers. The Durban MPT was instrumental in the execution of the strategy to clear the backlog of vessels at anchorage in 2024 from 20 to zero.
The previous volume record at the terminal was in the 2020/2021 financial year, with 182,198 TEUs. Despite equipment limitations, the terminal is capable of efficiently handling a wide range of vessels as this is a discharge-only operation.
The Durban MPT forms part of the Durban Terminals, which are managed by Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), a division of Transnet SOC. In pursuit of recovery, the business has set aside R3.4 billion to acquire equipment across its network of 16 sea-cargo terminals with the intention to offer improved efficiency and superior service to its customers and industry.
Recent equipment investments in Durban include 20 straddle carriers for the DCT Pier 2 Terminal, and nine rubber-tyred gantry cranes for the DCT Pier 1 Terminal.
