‘Shipping fraternity must help ensure that port works’

John Lawlor, Eastern Cape branch manager for MOL South Africa, said that from a shipper’s point of view, it was “lovely to see a ship come through the entrance to the port”. He added that it was as much the responsibility of the shipping fraternity as Transnet to ensure that the port succeeded. “If we don’t seek out opportunities and also help market the port, it will not realise its potential,” he said. Coega Development Corporation business development manager Chris Mashigo described the docking as an “important event” for the neighbouring Coega Industrial Development Zone. “It shows that we are well on track to adding a key piece of infrastructure.” He said he could now contact all those potential Coega IDZ investors who were waiting for news of the port. Thys Mőller, Eskom general manager for the southern region, said the arrival of the transformer meant that the Dedisa sub-station would be commissioned by the end of the year. It would “strengthen” the power supply to the Nelson Mandela Metro and the Coega IDZ.