Ngqura opens for business as Beluga Indication arrives

The port of Ngqura was opened to shipping early to allow two vessels to make the first calls on the harbour. At 8:30 on Wednesday, September 17, the Beluga Indication passed the entrance to the port. It was followed two hours later by the BBC Langeland. The Beluga Indication was carrying equipment for the new 400 kV Dedisa substation overlooking the harbour from the Coega Industrial Development Zone, while the BBC Langeland was due to discharge the first rubbertyred gantries for the container terminal in the port of Ngqura. The vessel is the first of six carrying gantries and other equipment for the terminal that are expected to call between now and February 2009, according to Transnet National Ports Authority Port Elizabeth port manager Ester Goosen. Speaking at a ceremony to mark the arrival of the first ships, Goosen said that they proved that the port of Ngqura was a reality. “Transnet has a lot of money invested in the port and we will make sure that it succeeds,” she said. Delays in the docking of the first two ships were due to ISPS code restrictions, which mean that special permission has to be obtained for every ship calling on an uncertified port. All the systems and infrastructure necessary for ISPS registration will be in place by April 2009. According to Goosen, both the infrastructure of the first phase of the container terminal and the rail link into the port from the national grid will be operational by October 2009, when the harbour is scheduled to become commercially operational.