DCD Marine bulks up in ship repair
A deal enabling engineering group DCD to bring together SA's largest ship and oil rig repair companies, DCD Marine and Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH), has been given the thumbs-up by the competition commission. The deal will lift DCD Marine's annual turnover by R500m to about R1bn, says Rob King, MD of DCD, formerly DCD-Dorbyl, the Company news release said.
King says the acquisition adds two key harbours to DCD Marine's reach: Durban and Namibia's Walvis Bay. EBH operates large floating docks in both harbours. "The harbours bring us closer to the [oil and gas] drilling fields on Africa's west and east coasts," says King. At EBH's request the deal price has not been disclosed, he adds.
DCD Marine's home base is Cape Town harbour, where it operates from A Berth, a 42700m² oil and gas rig modification and repair facility completed in late 2010. "DCD is positioned as a world-class shipyard," says King.
DCD Marine also operates out of Saldanha Bay, East London and the port of Ngqura (Coega).
The acquisition of EBH also provides DCD Marine with an entry into the cargo vessel repair sector, in which EBH has been active for more than 130 years. "This will enable better utilisation of our skills base," says King. "I am confident we will be able to undertake larger projects than EBH."
DCD Marine's expansion holds the potential to create 3000 new job opportunities, believes King. One oil rig project running over a period of about two months can, he says, provide work for anywhere between 800 and 1500 people. "Our target is two to three major projects annually in Cape Town," says King. "There is also a lot of activity in the cargo [ship] sector."
DCD itself is on a drive to increase SA's shipyard sector's skills base. "Last year we trained 600 welders," says King. DCD has just opened a R4m facility in Cape Town that will train 150 artisans a year in fields such as boiler making and fitting and turning, he adds.
"Many people we train don't work for us but add to the solid core of skilled artisans certified to work on gas and oil rigs," says King. "We intend to establish training facilities in Durban, Coega and Walvis Bay."
DCD Marine provides turnkey ship repair solutions to the marine and oil & gas sectors across Africa. Established in 1903, DCD Marine’s main facility is situated in the port of Cape Town and is the largest ship repair yard in Africa. This is supplemented by facilities in Saldanha Bay, Simons Town and a joint venture operation in East London. In addition mobile facilities provide services offshore, such as in the Port of Ngqura (Coega).
In Cape Town DCD Marine provides dry docks - the Sturrock Dry Dock is the largest and oldest dry dock of its kind in the southern hemisphere - and a designated berth for rig and vessel repairs, modifications, conversions and upgrades. The upgrade of the A-Berth facility currently in progress will ensure DCD Marine’s ability to provide a world-class multidisciplinary engineering, repair and refurbishment hub - Cape Town is now set to become the preferred destination for world class oil rig repairs and upgrades in Africa.
The company’s facilities are equipped to undertake repairs on any types of vessel including ships, oil rigs, crane barges, pipe-lay barges etc
