CT gets moving on R40m security upgrade project

THE long-awaited further
upgrade of security at the
port of Cape Town is under
way with construction of the
first guardhouse, part of a
R40 million project.
This will certainly put
paid to many motorists
using the harbour’s main
road as a convenient
thoroughfare at peak
hours, thereby avoiding the
congested freeway into the
Mother City.
The harbour entrance in
the vicinity of I and J berths
in Duncan Dock, leading
from Oswald Pirow Drive, is
closed to all traffic. It’s the
site of the first guardhouse
and will be equipped with a
security boom, cameras and
other attendant equipment.
Completion is expected by
December.
The next step will be
to erect a further two
guardhouses at Paarden
Eiland and at the harbour
police station.
A fourth entrance, at the
bottom of The Heerengracht
and normally only used in
emergencies, is open to
port traffic, in view of the
Oswald Pirow closure.
Under consideration
is electrifying certain
quiet parts of the security
perimeter, those more
difficult to monitor.
Sanjay Govan, Transnet
National Ports Authority
port manager, says he
expects the upgrade to be
fully operational by the end
of next year. Ring fencing of
the port is complete.
As to the present level of
port security, he says: “It has
improved a lot. We receive
excellent service from our
service provider on top of
which individual terminals
have their own security.”
Turning to safety, harbour
master Captain Ravi Naicker,
who experienced several
maritime mishaps during his
first month in office, says
the past winter has been
“quite hectic”, really testing
the capacity of marine
services personnel.
He vowed before his first
month was out that safety
would be at the top of his
agenda and is now able to
report that progress has
been made in this regard.
“We are looking at the
qualifications of training
programmes for our staff,
our programme for the
qualification of pilots
is in place and certain
weaknesses, for example the
movement of fishing vessels
into the port, have been
addressed.
As to whether he
considers Cape Town a safer
security port nowadays,
Naicker says there is always
room for improvement.