“At long last,” said Deon
Chetty, production manager
of ship repair company, Elgin
Brown & Hamer, as Transnet
National Ports Authority
(TNPA) announced that the
Prince Edward Graving Dry
Dock in Durban would be
undergoing a R30-million
repair project on its outer
caisson over the next four
months.
“There’s been a whole lot
wrong with this 90-year-old
dry dock and it has been so
unsafe that we haven’t been
able to utilise it for the past
three years,” he added.
This, according to TNPA,
is the third and final phase
of the repair programme on
the structure.
The project is expected
to run from this month to
November, with the nonoperational
period occurring
over August and September.
And TNPA assured the
press briefing that no repair
bookings had been received
from industry for that shutdown
period.
The successful bidder,
Durban-based engineering
firm Channel Construction,
along with managing
contractor Sebata Group,
and KwaZulu-Natal’s only
naval architecture firm,
Naval Africa, are now
working on the project.
The schedule for the
programme sees Channel
Construction working
24-hour shifts – with the
majority of the work to
be carried out offsite at
the contractor’s Bayhead
workshop.
TNPA expects the
Durban dry dock outer
caisson repair to be
completed in November,
along with a concrete
refurbishment programme,
replacement of crane rails,
replacement of two aged
electrical overheard cranes
and refurbishment of the
inner caisson. Also included
in this programme is the
procurement of new Jib
cranes, a mechanical pump
house upgrade, replacement
of workshop equipment,
installation of a new firefighting
system, installation
of new Capstans,
replacement of the f loating
dock and procurement of
six compressors.
The main job is the
rebuilding of that outer
caisson – a structure 35
metres long, 14m in height,
6m wide, and with a
mass of 900 tonnes – but
currently positioned at
the back of the dock and
supported for inspection and
rehabilitation.
According to information
released to FTW by Durban
port manager, Moshe
Motlohi, the tank section
of the caisson was found
to be in severe structural
disrepair and in need of
urgent remediation. It was
concluded that this section
in its entirety should be
removed and rebuilt to its
initial design condition.
After a three-year wait,
said Chetty, things had
better go right. “TNPA has
made a big hooha about
this project. But, if the
schedule is not maintained,
the ship repair industry
will go bananas. We’ve been
waiting, for example, for over
two years just for TNPA’s
procurement to take place."
CAPTION
Pictured at the official announcement of the dry dock repair project, from the left: Moshe Motlohi,
TNPA; Martin Cloete, Channel Construction; Rishaan Chabilal, Sebata Group; and Sibusiso Nhlabathi,
TNPA. In the background is the Africa Mercy ship which is presently undergoing repairs in the dry dock.
