Maritime News & Business Times: How has your planning changed given Durban's congestion over the past couple of years?
Freight Forwarder: We now build in far more buffer time than we used to, and we watch berth waiting reports closely before committing to a vessel booking. For time-sensitive cargo, we sometimes route through Ngqura or Cape Town even though it adds inland transport distance.
Maritime News & Business Times: Does the Pier 2 upgrade change that calculus?
Freight Forwarder: If it delivers what has been promised, yes — additional crane capacity and better yard software should meaningfully cut waiting times. But we have seen port projects slip before, so we are cautiously optimistic rather than banking on it.
Maritime News & Business Times: What would help most in the meantime?
Freight Forwarder: Better real-time visibility into berth schedules. Even small improvements in how far in advance we can plan around congestion make a real difference to our clients' supply chains.