Terry Hutson
SHIP REPAIR is a cyclical business at the best of times, but in the past weeks the industry in Durban has been riding on a peak, with ÒHouse FullÓ signs going up at recently vacant repair quays, leaving ship repairers struggling to find any corner to berth a ship. This sudden bounty led to Portnet re-opening a long-disused berth opposite Shop 24 near the dry dock, which hasn't seen an ocean-going vessel for some years.
What has caused the sudden spate of ship repairs is not certain, although the Durban yards have been marketing themselves rather extensively overseas of late.
Dormac Marine has put its unique cofferdam technology to good use on two ships that unexpectedly arrived in Durban with collision damage. The first ship was the multi purpose vessel Africa Star, which collided with an underwater object in the West African port of Cotonou, resulting in considerable tearing and dented plates beneath the hull. The largest cofferdam so far used was placed underneath the ship and permanent class-approved repairs completed without Africa Star having to discharge its cargo or enter dry dock.
No sooner was this repair complete than a large Russian products tanker, Geroi Sevastapolya, arrived with considerable damage to the starboard hull as a result of a collision with an Iranian ship somewhere in the Indian Ocean - though no-one is saying exactly where. At first the damage was thought to be confined to a large fracture on the starboard hull side (see picture), but subsequent underwater examination revealed a large tear below the waterline.
This resulted in another cofferdam repair, which is underway at present. A third ship arrived in Durban on schedule but with collision damage, the container ship Kota Maha, which is being repaired by James Brown and Hamer.
Damage to this ship is confined to above the waterline and the repair is being completed at Durban's N shed berth.
On top of these, the dry dock and two floating docks have enjoyed 100% occupancy in recent months with little sign of things letting up. The ship owners are not smiling, but the ship repair industry certainly is.
The Russian ship Geroi Sevastapolya, severely dented along the starboard hull, is one of Durban's recent
unexpected visitors
