Detailed design under way for refurbishment of Mossel Bay slipway

Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA’s) Port of Mossel Bay has appointed a service provider to provide a detailed design for the refurbishment of the port’s 500 t slipway and sideslip facility.

The refurbished facility will cater primarily for fishing vessels. 

The project is part of accelerated port investments that fall under the Marine Transport and Manufacturing (MTM) component of the South African government’s Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy initiative, for which TNPA is a lead implementing agent.

Operation Phakisa aims to unlock the potential of South Africa’s oceans economy by facilitating the growth of the local ship repair, ship building and the oil and gas sector.

Acting Mossel Bay port manager Vania Cloete said in a statement on Friday that the design by Lodemann Holdings was expected to be ready by July 2018.

“TNPA will request capital funding for the execution stage of the facility. All Operation Phakisa projects nationally are expected to be operational by the end of 2019,” she said.

The Port of Mossel Bay’s slipway was built in the early 1930s and comprises a concrete slipway with two side slips and lead in jetties.

The operation still uses the original end haul action in which vessels are supported on a wooden cradle hauled up the inclined slipway on three rails and supported by stacked wooden blocks.

Over the years, the wooden elements have deteriorated.

A preliminary investigation was carried out during 2015/16 where the most feasible options were identified.

The intention is to upgrade the facility to its original capacity, while at the same time introducing more modern ways of operation and reducing any safety risks to staff and service providers working at the facility.

The port’s slipway refurbishment is expected to create about 10 to 20 jobs during construction and three to five jobs for operations.

TNPA has committed a budget of R2.1-billion nationally to maintain and refurbish existing ship repair facilities in the ports of Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay and Cape Town by 2019.