Latest port tug order could be in trouble

TERRY HUTSON THE ORDER for two new tugs which was awarded to Damen Shipbuilding to be built at the Southern African Shipyards in Durban for the National Ports Authority could be in dispute and on hold according to informed sources. While this could not be confirmed, it seems an appeal has been lodged over the tender by a Cape Town shipbuilding company and the shipbuilding programme at Durban has been placed on hold and may be cancelled for a new tender to be issued. Details of the claim are not known but it should be remembered that several previous tenders for tugs to be built for the National Ports Authority have been bedeviled by law suits and counterclaims, leading to a number of tender processes being abandoned.