Durban - Construction of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) dredging service’s third new dredger is under way – and in line with maritime tradition, now contains a Mandela coin.
When the keel-laying ceremony was held by TNPA and shipbuilder IHC at their Rotterdam shipyard in the Netherlands earlier this month, the coin was symbolically placed underneath the hull.
According to tradition, placing a commemorative coin in the hull of a new ship during the keel-laying ceremony, invites good fortune during the construction and the life of the ship.
The dredger, which has not yet been named, will be a 5 500 cubic metre trailing-suction hopper and will be the largest in Africa.
One thousand four hundred tons of steel to be used in the dredger will be imported from South Africa.
The R889m-dredger – part of a R2 billion project to renew the dredging fleet – will be fitted with the latest technology, and will come with its own workboat, which, among other tasks, will be used as for hydrographic surveys
The dredger is expected to be delivered to Durban at the end of January next year.
Daily News Reporter