Cape Town loses its bunker barge service
Cape Town is without a bunker barging service at present after the KZN Oils barge PELICAN was taken out of service because it was found on inspection to be out of class.
The barge has for several years provided the only barging service in the port, while at the same time the port’s pipelines have become less and less adequate to the task.
The owners of PELICAN, Durban-based KZN Oils says it intends replacing the barge with a newbuild, but so far there’s been no confirmation that a contract for its construction has been signed. A new barge would take a little over a year to be built either locally or overseas. KZN Oils has been negotiating with local shipyards since the third quarter of last year but until recently no orders had been confirmed.
The only barges known to be under construction for use in South African ports at present are a 5,000-tonne capacity barge for Smit Amandla Marine, which is to enter service in Durban, and two barges for Southern Tankers that are under construction in China. All three will be delivered by October 2007. It has not been confirmed where the two Southern Tanker barges will go into service although Durban and Richards Bay appear the most likely.
Southern Tankers is a black economic empowered subsidiary of Durban-based Grindrod Group.
In each case the time span for a new barge is about a year and unless PELICAN can receive sufficient repairs to have her returned to class it would appear that the port of Cape Town may have to continue to do without a barging service.
The barge has for several years provided the only barging service in the port, while at the same time the port’s pipelines have become less and less adequate to the task.
The owners of PELICAN, Durban-based KZN Oils says it intends replacing the barge with a newbuild, but so far there’s been no confirmation that a contract for its construction has been signed. A new barge would take a little over a year to be built either locally or overseas. KZN Oils has been negotiating with local shipyards since the third quarter of last year but until recently no orders had been confirmed.
The only barges known to be under construction for use in South African ports at present are a 5,000-tonne capacity barge for Smit Amandla Marine, which is to enter service in Durban, and two barges for Southern Tankers that are under construction in China. All three will be delivered by October 2007. It has not been confirmed where the two Southern Tanker barges will go into service although Durban and Richards Bay appear the most likely.
Southern Tankers is a black economic empowered subsidiary of Durban-based Grindrod Group.
In each case the time span for a new barge is about a year and unless PELICAN can receive sufficient repairs to have her returned to class it would appear that the port of Cape Town may have to continue to do without a barging service.
