A global shortage of ship repair facilities has helped boost business in the East London drydock to a ten-year high, according to Transnet National Ports Authority spokesperson Terry Taylor. By the end of October, the drydock will have been used by 11 vessels, ranging from 170-metre container vessels and mini bulk carriers to 80-metre tugs, according to Taylor. According to Callum Alexander, general manager of East London Shipyard, the drydock is the busiest it has been in the 14 years he has been with the company because of a world-wide shortage of facilities and overflow from the Durban drydock. Business started picking up in 2007, with a 50% rise in the number of vessels coming in for repairs over the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years. Forecasts for 2009 are that the trend will continue, but “it’s impossible to forecast”, says Alexander. Taylor says the drydock is also attracting business because it “is a small, efficient drydock. We do the docking and the repair work gets done by local contractors.”
It’s boom-time at East London’s drydock
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