Durban - The first of nine Durban-built tugboats - part of a R1.4 billion Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) contract - was launched on Thursday amid much fanfare and tradition when a bottle of champagne was smashed on its bow.
The tugboat, named Mvezo after the Eastern Cape village where former president Nelson Mandela was born, was built by Durban’s Southern African Shipyards (SAS), one of the biggest shipbuilding companies in Africa.
According to observers, the delivery of Mvezo is part of a revitilisation of shipbuilding in the city, which, at its peak in the late ’80s, employed more than a half a million workers.
“This is the largest single contract TNPA has ever awarded to a South African company for the building of harbour craft,” TNPA chief executive, Richard Vallihu said.
“The building of Mvezo and the eight other tugs in this project, demonstrates that this country has the expertise to compete in the global shipbuilding industry and to use the maritime economy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa, in line with the government’s Operation Phakisa initiative,” Vallihu said.
A total of about R2bn will be spent over the next five years as part of Operation Phakisa, which aims to refurbish existing repair facilities at South Africa’s ports.
An estimated R13bn to 15bn will be spent to create new repair facilities at South African ports.
In line with maritime tradition, the duty of officially naming the vessel was carried out by a Lady Sponsor, Lauriette Sesoko, general manager of commercial and marketing at TNPA.
Mvezo is expected to be handed over to the Port of Port Elizabeth in February, followed by handovers every three months until the last one is launched in early 2018.
Two tugs each will be allocated to the ports of Durban, Richards Bay and Port Elizabeth, while Saldanha, which handles the largest carriers, will receive three.
Vallihu said TNPA required bigger, stronger tugboats as bigger commercial vessels were calling at South African ports more frequently.
“These nine tugs are 31 metres long with a powerful 70 ton bollard pull, so this is a big step up in power from our older tugs with 32.5 to 40 ton pulls.
“The new tugs feature latest technology, including Voith Scheider propulsion which makes them highly manoeuvrable and able to change direction and thrust almost instantaneously while guiding large vessels safely into our ports.”
SAS also built TNPA’s previous 12 tugs.
Prasheen Maharaj, chief executive of SAS, said the company had created 500 direct and 3 500 indirect jobs during the project.
“We have also committed to ensuring that each tug has a minimum of 60% locally manufactured components, while partnering with international companies on the remaining aspects that cannot be manufactured here, for example, the engines and propulsion units,” he said.
Maharaj said the intention was to maximise local content and spread the benefits of the project to black suppliers, women- and youth-owned businesses.
“Ultimately South Africa will achieve a socio-economic benefit of more than R800 million as a result of the supplier development plan attached to the contract,” he said.
Daily News
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