Absent RB pilot helicopter costs industry millions

Delivery of replacement postponed to July ALAN PEAT BULK CARGO shippers are screaming for the urgent delivery of a replacement helicopter for the port of Richards Bay – with delay costs in the two years since the previous chopper crashed now running to hundreds of million, according to one of the many sufferers. That’s based on a startling total of about R700 000 (US$95 000) per day in demurrage (undue delay) costs for a Cape-sized bulk carrier – and the many days lost when rough weather prevented the use of the pilot boat, and a helicopter was needed to ferry pilots to the vessels waiting off-shore. But the order for the replacement helicopter – with the machine due to have been delivered about this April – seems to have got lost in the National Ports Authority (NPA) ordering system, FTW was told, and the latest vague promise made to shippers is a delivery in July. But said one disgruntled shipper, that was only after “immense pressure” from the major bulk users at RB, and the big ship charterers. “Occasionally,” he added, “the NPA in Durban loan their own helicopter when rough seas are delaying vessels outside the port, but these occasions are few and far between. “And, at the huge cost for a vessel waiting idle, there is ample justification for RB to have its own machine. It’s a cost the NPA could recover in about three years, and it’s an investment that would show a good return in the lifespan of the helicopter.” ALAN PEAT IN A recent release, the Perishable Products Export Control Board (PPECB) announced the imposition – effective April 1 – of levies and tariffs related to various perishable products. These were listed as: • Sea levies; • Container inspection levies; • Laboratory fees; and • Other levies. There’s nothing new here, according to Mike Walwyn of Seaboard and Craig Campbell of Grindrod PCA, just the usual annual adjustment. But, they added, these are costs directly billed to the exporter. Speaking for exporters, Chris Bennet of African Supply and Procurement, confirmed our commentators’ lack of concern. “I’ve examined all the levies that affect us,” he said, “and found them all to be well within the inflation rate.” And, he added, there was no complaint about these charges in the perishable export industry, the PPECB carrying out the necessary checks and examinations in an efficient and businesslike manner. “We’re getting what we paid for,” Bennet said. ED RICHARDSON GENERAL MOTORS South Africa (GMSA) is shaking up the luxury sports utility vehicle market in South Africa with the introduction of the Hummer H3 starting at R374 000. This is well below the R400 000 plus of most other vehicles in that sector of the market. The pricing was announced at the launch of the righthand- drive Hummer H3 at General Motors in Port Elizabeth recently, where the vehicle is being assembled for local and international markets. GMSA has been exporting left-hand drive Hummer H3 vehicles from Port Elizabeth to The Middle East, Europe and Israel since November 2006. Markets for the right hand drive model include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Africa. Exports will start this month (May) says the company’s planning director Ian Nicholls. “In addition to this there are a number of markets to which we are currently not exporting that have recently shown an interest in the vehicle. These stretch from Asia to South America,” he says. Nicholls said it was too soon to speculate on whether GM South Africa would be awarded additional export contracts. “We are now involved in the early stages of global vehicle development programmes which have created opportunities for South Africa to be part of the global assembly footprint. We will therefore, on an ongoing basis, be assessing opportunities to further grow our business through the acquisition of vehicle export programmes.” Absent RB pilot helicopter costs industry millions