Key South African ports declare ‘force majeure’ after cyber attack
South Africa’s state-owned ports and freight-rail operator Transnet has declared “force majeure” at the country’s main container terminals because of “an act of cyberattack, security intrusion and sabotage” that struck last week.
The measure, which releases a company from fulfilling
contractual obligations, affects key container terminals in Durban, Ngqura,
Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a note dated
Monday that Transnet sent to customers.
“Transnet, including Transnet Port Terminals, experienced an
act of cyberattack, security intrusion and sabotage, which resulted in the
disruption of TPT normal processes and functions or the destruction or damage
of equipment or information,” the note reads, according to Bloomberg.
“Investigators are currently determining the exact source of
the cause of compromise and extent of the ICT data security breach or
sabotage.”
Transnet is reportedly taking “all available and reasonable
mitigation measures” to limit the impact from the disruption. Container
terminals are operating at a slower pace than usual, Bloomberg reported.
Transnet representatives did not return The Post’s request
for comment. The company said in a statement to Reuters that the force majeure
declaration would be lifted soon.
Transnet’s website was inaccessible on Tuesday morning and
showed an error message.
The impact of the cyberattack threatens to disrupt the
precarious financial recovery of Africa’s most-industrialized economy.
Stalled operations at the ports could also ripple across
Africa as they serve as key hubs for landlocked countries such as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Bloomberg reported.
Transnet’s port in Durban, for example, handles over 60
percent of South Africa’s container traffic, according to the US Department of
Commerce.
The Johannesburg-based company said last week that it was
experiencing disruption on its IT network.
Gavin Kelly, the head of South Africa’s Road Freight
Association, said last week that the attack has already resulted in “massive
delays and unreliability of the movement of goods across all modes of
transport.”
“The gates to ports are closed which means no trucks are
moving in either direction,” he said in a statement. “This has immediate
effect: the queues will get a lot longer, deliveries will be delayed and
congestion will increase.”
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