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Cyber Attack Hits South Africa's Port Terminals

Container ships wait to load and offload goods in port during a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cape Town, South Africa, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
Container ships wait to load and offload goods in port during a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cape Town, South Africa, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
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Cyber Attack Hits South Africa's Port Terminals

Container ships wait to load and offload goods in port during a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cape Town, South Africa, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo
Container ships wait to load and offload goods in port during a 21-day nationwide lockdown aimed at limiting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cape Town, South Africa, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Hutchings/File Photo

South Africa's state-owned logistics firm Transnet says its main port terminals have been hit by a major cyber attack, prompting it to turn to a rarely-invoked clause releasing it from liability.

In a letter to its customers, dated Monday, the company said it was declaring force majeure -- a clause that prevents a party from fulfilling a contract because of external and unforeseen circumstances.

It said it had "experienced an act of cyber-attack, security intrusion and sabotage, which resulted in the disruption of... normal processes and functions."

The attack has affected ports in Durban -- the busiest in sub-Saharan Africa -- as well as Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura, Transnet said in the "confidential" notice seen by AFP on Tuesday.

The attack began on July 22 but continued, forcing the firm to switch to manual systems.

"Operations at the container terminals are still running albeit slower than expected," it said.

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Philippines Alarmed after China Sends ‘Monster Ship’ to Disputed Shoal

This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
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Philippines Alarmed after China Sends ‘Monster Ship’ to Disputed Shoal

This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)
This handout aerial photo taken on January 13, 2025 and released by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on January 14 shows Chinese Coast Guard ship 5901 sailing in the South China Sea. (Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) / AFP)

The Philippines accused China on Tuesday of intimidating its fishermen at a disputed South China Sea shoal, and normalizing an "illegal presence", after Beijing sent its largest coast guard vessel into Manila's maritime zone.

The move comes against the backdrop of rising tension between the Philippines, a US treaty ally, and Beijing during the past two years, stemming from their overlapping claims in the busy waterway of the South China Sea.

The Philippines has protested this month against the entry of Chinese vessels in its 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), including the 165-m (541-ft) -long ship 5901, last spotted 77 nautical miles off the western province of Zambales.

Jonathan Malaya, a spokesperson for the Philippines' National Security Council, reiterated a call for Beijing to withdraw from Manila's waters the "monster ship" he said was deployed to intimidate its fishermen around Scarborough Shoal.

"We were surprised about the increasing aggression being showed by the People's Republic of China in deploying the monster ship," Malaya told a press conference.

"It is an escalation and provocative," Malaya added, calling the presence of the vessel "illegal" and "unacceptable".

"It is also a clear attempt to intimidate our fishermen and deprive them of their legitimate livelihood."

China's embassy in Manila said the shoal, which it calls "Huangyan Dao", is China's territory, and its actions are in "full accordance with the law".

"It is fully justified," the embassy said in a statement.

Since China seized the Scarborough Shoal in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippines, its coast guard ships have maintained a constant presence to patrol the area.

But China's recent actions have become more concerning because its coast guard vessels moved closer to the Philippine coast, Malaya added.

The Philippine coast guard said it had sent two of its largest vessels to drive away the ship whose presence, its spokesperson said, aimed to normalize China's "illegal deployment" of coast guard vessels in Manila's EEZ.

China's expansive claims in the South China Sea, a strategic shipping conduit for about $3 trillion of annual commerce, overlap with the EEZs of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled China's claims to large swathes of the disputed waterway had no basis, a decision Beijing rejects.