IT ISSUES that have caused long holdups for trucks at the Port of Melbourne have spread to other DP World sites.
A notice issued by the Container Transport Alliance Australia (CTAA) on 18 September said the Port of Melbourne has continued to suffer significant landside congestion due to IT issues at DP World West Swanson Terminal (WST) earlier this week.
The congestion began last weekend and into this week after complications with a Terminal Operating System (TOS) upgrade.
“Truck turnaround times at DP World WST have blown out considerably, leaving transport operators having to work extra shifts and trying to gain additional VBS slots in a scramble to catch up,” the notice said.
“This will mean that transport operators will be forced to work all available terminal shifts this week and into the weekend, at extra operating costs.
“Road congestion in the port’s Swanson Precinct has been severe, with the newly created, yet inadequate East/West road connection (due to its single lane each way design) – Intermodal Way – resembling a truck parking lot for some time on Monday.
“The congestion in the port has been amplified due to the ongoing lane and turning restrictions on Footscray Road due to continued works on the West Gate Tunnel Project (WGTP).
“This has meant that many trucks must rely on transiting via Intermodal Way, rather than being able to utilise Footscray Road for key movements.
“If Intermodal Way is at stand-still, then these trucks are literally just stuck until the congestion eases.
“The congestion had a flow-on effect to other facilities in the Swanson Precinct, including Patrick East Swanson Terminal (ESD), with some trucks unable to return to their yards due to the chronic road congestion.
“All stakeholders should understand that it will take transport operators some days to recover from these delays in Melbourne.
“This is due to the compounding effect of dealing with not only the containers that the operators have not been able to receive and deliver over the last few days, but also the subsequent container volumes becoming available for import pick-up or export receival. It has a compounding effect.
“The weather has also played its part in contributing to the congestion issues.
“High winds in Melbourne over last weekend have been coupled with vessel schedule disruptions caused by high winds at Port Botany, Sydney, leading to ‘vessel bunching’.”
The notice went on to say that on Tuesday, the IT issues at DP World snowballed to their other Terminals in Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle.
“Due to this unplanned IT outage, all of DP World’s Terminal gates were closed for a short time.
“In Brisbane, the terminal’s automated stacking cranes (ASCs) and truck arrival kiosks were disabled.
“In Sydney, the 1100hr time zone for truck arrivals was cancelled, while in Fremantle trucks were diverted to the truck marshalling area (TMA) until the IT systems could be recovered.
“Transport operators will recover – but it will take time, and it will come at an extra cost.”
