First privately-owned floating dock arrives in Durban

DURBAN'S NEWEST floating dock arrived at the port last week and will go into
service almost immediately in competition to Portnet's dry and floating docks.
The dock was purchased second-hand from Turku in Finland by Durban ship repair and engineering company Elgin Brown & Hamer and has been wet-towed from the Baltic to South Africa behind a tug under charter from Pentow Marine. This becomes South Africa's first privately owned and operated floating dock.
The 150 metre long x 32 metre wide dock has been placed temporarily next to Portnet's new floating dock at Bayhead until Elgin Brown has completed dredging the basin where both docks will be permanently based. This
is over the same spot in which Portnet's old floating dock sank so ignominiously about
a year ago.
Elgin Brown's dock has been imported for a total contract price of R36 million. With a lifting capacity of 8 500 tons, which is almost double that of the smaller 4 000 ton Portnet dock, it can lift ships in the 30 000 ton region and allows Elgin Brown to compete for at least half the ships that presently use Durban's graving dock. The graving dock is enjoying100% occupancy and has a waiting list, giving Elgin Brown the confidence that there is enough work for all three docks in Durban.
By Terry Hutson