Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) made the news this week by promising minimal disruption with the temporary shutdown of Pier 2 at the Durban container terminal(DCT) for refurbishment of berths.  Over the next 74 months, TPT plans to divert 400 000 twenty-foot equivalent units of container traffic from the DCT to the RoRo and Maydon Wharf terminals at the port.

The terminal executive at RoRo and Maydon Wharf, Zeph Ndlovu, said, ‘ TPT has put considerable effort into ensuring it can deal with the increased container demand while berths at DCT … are out of service.’

Fingers crossed that everything runs smoothly.

Things not running that smoothly however are the  government’s eight research and patrol ships, worth about R1 billion each which are lined up in False Bay awaiting an uncertain future – even as the Navy takes them into their fold, despite media scrutiny around the legalities of the Navy running civilian ships.

The next Fisheries research trip, scheduled for April is now in jeopardy.  If  fisheries management is not based on science, South Africa stands to lose its Marine Stewardship Certification for hake.  Surely this cannot be allowed to happen?

In more bizarre news some poor surfers and residents at Muizenberg were upset  after treknet fishing led to a net full of fish being pulled onto the beach at the popular Surfer’s Corner, interrupting surfing and bathing.  The surfers would like the treknetting to take place ‘further down’, while the fishermen promise that they are being considerate to the surfers.

Is it really necessary to debate who the beach belongs to when one group are trying to create a livelihood to feed their families and the other group are …..  going for a surf.  Maybe the surfers could try to ‘go further down’?