Mining Weekly

Port operator Transnet Port Terminals’ (TPT’s) skiptainer solution has proven successful in meeting rising demand for the export of manganese, says TPT Port Elizabeth (PE) terminal manager Nelisiwe Mbenekazi.

She says that there was significant demand abroad for manganese, but TPT was unable to meet that demand, prior to the skiptainer methodology having been implemented. “Now TPT has increased capacity throughput.”

The skiptainer solution was created using ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and attaching a revolving spreader that could successfully rotate the container into the storage area on board the vessel.

Implementing the innovation has resulted in increased capacity throughput of 23% at the terminal from the 2014/15 financial year to the 2015/16 financial year.

TPT handled 160 000 t since December in the 2013/14 financial year and, depending on rail supply, it expects to handle 1.6-million tons for the 2016/17 financial year.

The TPT PE terminal is the largest manganese export facility in Africa. It has, therefore, introduced several innovative handling methods over the past three years to facilitate the growth of emerging miners and improve by 500 000 t capacities year-on- year, including the successful handling of skiptainers.

A straddle is the machinery used to offload the 3/4 size containers that arrive directly from the mines at the terminal. Before the manganese containers reach the skiptainer vessel, they are offloaded to a straddle and taken to the stacking area adjacent to the vessel. From there, the skiptainers in which the manganese is loaded and transported are emptied directly into loading vessels or storage facilities in a designated areas at the port.

Further, a dust curtain works in conjunction with the dust suppressing system (DSS) to trap the dust escaping over the sides of hatch of the vessel.

The curtain was invented by TPT STS crane driver Kevin De Lange. The curtain has proved effective and has enabled TPT to improve its handling and turnaround times, Mbenekazi says.

TPT has also considered the flow of cargo supply to the vessels. To streamline this process, TPT has revised the supply method in terms of bringing cargo closer to the vessel. This reduced travel time from the stack to the vessel, in turn, means reduced times that vessels remain of the port.

TPT has also collaborated with a key stakeholder and client in the mining sector, min- ing company Tshipi e’Ntle Manganese Mining, to significantly increase the export of additional volumes of manganese.

Tshipi e’Ntle Manganese Mining is trialling this method of handling manganese in partnership with TPT. The company has invested in three rotating spreaders and a DSS.

Mbenekazi points out that the skiptainer solution investments assist in ensuring the sustainability of the port while meeting clients’ requirements.

“With prices for manganese increasing in recent years, mining companies wanted to export additional volumes. Increased capacities and quicker turnaround times of cargo offloaded ultimately means the mining company can satisfy client demand . . . ,” she says.

Since the loading of the first vessel using the skiptainer method and De Lange’s dust curtain, TPT has successfully improved loading turnaround times, from vessels having stayed on berth for eight days in December to more recently achieving an average berth stay of only three days.

TPT’s best vessel turnaround time to date has been two days, and the number of vessels that TPT services has increased from one a month to three or four a month, Mbenekazi concludes.