Fuel supply resumes at Island View Terminal in Port of Durban

The eThekwini Municipality says fuel supplies have started from the Island View Terminal in the Port of Durban.

This after fuel distribution operation was constrained to 20% of the normal daily supply chain operation and strictly during the daytime.

The Municipality further says that after a meeting between eThekwini Municipality and Transnet National Port Authorities, it was decided to allow heavy fuel supplies to be increased to 60% of the normal daily limit.

The fuel industry and Transnet National Port Authorities had earlier raised a concern that the volume of fuel is not sufficient to cater to the country’s fuel requirements and demand.

KZN FLOODS | Motorists feel effects of floods amid fuel shortage in eThekwini Metro 

Port partially opened

So far 395 lives have been lost due to the devastating floods that affected most of the KwaZulu-Natal province.

Bayhead Road south of Durban remains closed as mop up operations continue. This is a strategic route for the movement of cargo coming in and out of the province.

Trucks have been are unable to access the critical container terminals. Managing Director at Transnet National Ports Authority Moshe Motlohi  says that trucks delivering essential cargo including fuel, medicines and food are now being allowed to travel between Bayhead container terminal and the Port of Durban.

“We were mindful that there were commodities that are urgent that must be kept on the market here we are referring to petroleum products we then arranged with the city of eThekwini that we should be allowed to use the Bluff road to access Island View where we allowed the trucks that are coming to fetch diesel and fuel and jet fuel. We also have made a special dispensation for medial supplies that will be required, there’s a process that we’ve communicated to industry where they will approach various terminals to get those trucks to be given access to use the same road to the port.”