A ship building company in Durban will next month start construction on a hydrographic survey vessel for the South African Navy, the first naval vessel to be built in South Africa in 30 years.
The company plans to spend half a billion rand to expand its operations as a contribution to government’s recent investment initiative.
South Africa’s vast coastline has the potential to contribute up to R177 billion to the gross domestic product and create just over 1 million jobs by 2033.
Marine transport and manufacturing is one of six priority focus areas which could unlock the economical potential of the country’s oceans.
Southern African Shipyards – SAS- was awarded a government contract through Operation Phakisa’s oceans economy programme four years ago. It’s about to deliver the last of nine specialised tugs as part of the R1.4 billion project.
“For the tug project in peak production we employed about 470 people directly in the shipyard;that excludes all the people that are employed by our sub-contractors. When you included that the people who are employed to supply the engines, the steel, the furniture, the gearboxes etc it comes to about close to 3000 people that were employed because of the tug contract,” says Prasheen Maharaj of Southern African Shipyards.
The sophisticated military vessel project requires skilled engineers.
“I do communications so all the things that deal with communications in the vessel that’s what I do. That would be like the radios or choosing the right satellite TV’s for these vessels actually like the ones that are more hi-tech stuff,” says junior systems engineer, Molawa Ngoetjana.
The company has focused on developing skills in the labour intensive ship-building and ship repair industry.
Boilermaker, Zama Manzi, says the job is challenging.
“They give me a drawing and then I take the drawing and I build foundations and ladders for the ship. They don’t just give you a drawing and do this and this; they tell you to do it in your own way the best way you think is possible to challenge myself and grow as a person.”
Maharaj says government needs to create an enabling environment for investors and business. But the private sector should also play its part.
“The first investment we are making we are investing in a gantry crane at the SAS and that will almost triple our productive capacity and that will enable us to build four large vessels simultaneously, and that will make us a real giant on the African continen. Still small on a global scale but a giant in the African continent.”
Plans are also afoot to invest in a R300 million floating dock to service the vessels which call at the Durban port.
Another focus area is the ground-breaking plan to develop small harbours.
