Shipping activities at South Africa’s busiest port (Port of Durban) have been suspended following severe flooding in the KwaZulu-Natal province that has so far claimed at least 60 lives.
The suspension took effect from 1930 local time on Monday due to heavy rains that have damaged the roads leading into the port, a key hub for shipping containers and metals such as copper.
In a statement on Tuesday, South Africa’s state-owned logistics firm Transnet requested customers to “hold back” on bringing their trucks into the port, to avoid congestion.
Transnet also added its Richards Bay ports, as well as rail lines in some parts of the KwaZulu-Natal province, are operating at “limited capacity” as a result of flooding.
“Transnet Freight Rail’s engineering teams will assess the extent of the damage before full operations can resume,” the company said.
According to reports, communications have also been disrupted. Two major telecoms companies have reported more than 900 of their mobile phone towers were down.
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