Outlook for ship repair bleak to say the least

Bayhead development not welcome to this sector Terry HuTson NEWS THAT the National Ports Authority wants to extend the port of Durban by excavating deep into Bayhead has not been welcomed by all port users. Durban’s ship repairers are among the most concerned at the development, for this entire industry is situated in an area about to be turned into a waterway. The ship repair industry is currently enjoying a period of growth with a constant flow of ships arriving for ship repair either in one of the three dry docks (two floating and one graving) or for repairs alongside the ship repair quay. As such the combined facilities offer the port an important marketable attraction for shipping lines – not only a facility for their ships to undergo examination and repair where necessary but also from a choice of highly qualified specialists in the field. These facilities remain intact despite little having been spent by the NPA on refurbishment or upgrading of the ship repair infrastructure. Several of the cranes at the dry dock have been taken out of service and not replaced and ship repair companies say they are forced to hire other cranes even though the dock fees cover this item. The problem stems from the NPA not knowing what to do with its ship repair sector. O n several occasions it has indicated it would be happy to dispose of the facilities such as the dry dock, not only at Durban but those at Cape Town and East London as well. Yet for a number of years the NPA has dragged its corporate feet when it comes to facilitating any thought of a handover to private industry and it is probably true that there is no more clarity on the issue now than five years ago. Adding to ship repair woes, a recent study conducted by an outside source on behalf of Transnet arrived at statistics to show that container handling earns considerably more in revenue for the port than does ship repair, in terms of berth space. In the past this was not a factor that was ever taken into account – the space was there and ship repair facilities were allowed to develop. Now that space is at a premium it is another matter. Ship repairers say the impact of the container terminal is immediate to them. “We have tendered on projects that go beyond the proposed start-up date,” said Chris Sparg, Dormac’s managing director, adding that they were in discussion with the NPA and the consultants handling the proposed Bayhead container development. “Increasing the harbour throughput without developing the ship repair facilities within the port makes no sense, and relocating the ship repair activities to Richards Bay is moving the required service from the real core to a vastly reduced requirement to the detriment of owners and Durban ship repairers,” he said.