You can see it for miles and rubbernecking caused many car accidents when the massive FPSO Dalia dominating the skyline of the port of Cape Town first arrived a few weeks back. As someone quipped, if there was to be a power failure, its would light up the city all on its own!
Add to that the presence of the number of rigs in the port and one feels heartened that some serious work is obviously being done to develop Cape Town and Saldanha Bay as an oil and gas service hub.
However it is only when you get up close that you can truly appreciate the sheer size and then the engineering intricacy of loading a semi-submersible rig on to a heavy lift vessel which in turn managed to raise the rig clear of the water by de-ballasting.
So far so good. There are a few glitches related mainly to stalling by the ports authorities but one hopes that the prattle of "changing the mindset" we heard loud and clearly at the recent African Ports & Harbours Congress in Johannesburg will be taken seriously and they put their money where their mouths are. The fact is if the South African companies involved can pull this - and other - projects off without hitch, it bodes well for future repair work coming our way.
The season for Cape storms is upon us. Unlike the unfortunate Alexandros T bulker and most of her crew who became victims to the sea, one grounding that has had nothing to do with the weather is the Safmarine Agulhas. She apparently suffered engine failure hardly out of the port of East London. Smit Salvage went to her rescue, and also that of the Setsuyo Star in False Bay and the Petrobas XXI oil platform near Tristan da Cunha. As far as the latter is concerned it was bad weather that forced the tug towing her to release her, she took off and it was only some days later that she was spotted.
The automotive industry and its impact on the ports is highlighted in this issue of SA Shipping News. Huge growth has not necessarily meant the creation of more jobs though. International car manufacturers are keen to have a slice of the South African pie and if you have tried to buy a car lately you will know how overwhelming the choice is. That port capacity is challenged is an understatement and dwell time is becoming more and more important as imports and exports increase.
Signing off, remember the Marine Insurance Workshop that is taking place in the next few months. Last year there was so much interest it was a struggle to get a seat, there's no doubt it will be the case this year too.
PS. News and photographs (in JPEG format) are most welcome and can be emailed to me at trachandler@telkomsa.net

Editor

Cover Story

A rig upgrade project involving several major players in the Cape ship repair industry and an international oil, gas and petrochemical support services company is expected to inject approximately USD20 million into the Western Cape economy.
The dry docking of the Sedeco 709 on the back of a heavy lifting vessel is highly significant because it presents the rig owners with an alternative option to docking in a conventional graving dock, either in Europe or the Far East, and in turn, saves the owner millions of dollars in deviation costs and off-charter time delays.
The confidence placed in South African operations by Transocean and international contracting group, RBG, will hopefully also attract other rig owners to Cape Town as a preferred location for future projects. See page 5 for the full story.