Cape Town’s marine pilots may soon be transferred by helicopter to vessels waiting to berth. This is according to Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) which is considering the option in response to high swell conditions in the port which have at times made it impossible to get pilots to board vessels safely.
“This has had major impact on our operational efficiencies,” said Nozipho Mdawe, TNPA COO. Speaking to FTW on the sidelines of a customer stakeholder engagement in Cape Town recently, she said the port authority was not opposed to investing in helicopters but it had to be financially viable.
“A fully fledged feasibility study is being undertaken to match the service with the need and to determine a tariff for this service,” she said. “This process includes engaging with major customers to establish the level of interest and to test whether the service cost would be acceptable.” Mdawe said it was still being debated whether the service should be shared between the Western Cape ports or dedicated to one.
“One option is to station one of the existing TNPA helicopters in Cape Town to service all of the Western Cape ports,” she said. “The other option is to partner with a private helicopter company in Cape Town to render this service only as and when swell conditions dictate or when there are insufficient pilot boats to meet the number of vessel calls.”
Mdawe said the authority was also looking at bringing forward the replacement of two tugs and two launches from 2020/21 to 2019/20 to meet industry needs.
