Durban’s latest tug passes readiness test

Terry Hutson THE NATIONAL Ports Authority’s (NPA) latest tug passed her sea trials last week and is ready to enter service in the port of Durban. The tug has been named Tugela in line with the NPA’s policy of naming Durban tugs after East Coast rivers. “We achieved a speed of 12.99 knots and a bollard pull of 55 tons, which in both cases exceeded the specification,” said SAFBuild director Jurgen Cobarg. He said the next tug, number 305 in SAFBuild’s registry, would be launched later in January. The NPA programme calls for eight or nine new Voith Schneider-propulsion tugs to replace older vessels at work in the country’s ports. Two of these will have increased bollard pull for use at the future port of Coega. Last week the NPA also placed adverts for the building of a new pilot boat for an unspecified port. The first two tugs in this programme, named Palmiet and Enseleni, were completed in 2000 at a joint cost of R104 million and entered service in Durban, although Palmiet has subsequently transferred to Cape Town to cope with the demand in that port for more powerful tugs. The third tug, Indlazi, went into service at Richards Bay last year. Cobarg told FTW that SAFBuild - a joint venture between Southern African Shipyards (SAS) and a black empowerment company SAFreight Ltd - has tendered for the contract to build tugs six and seven. The tender is due to be awarded sometime in April.