Bosch Projects recently completed the upgrade of two shiploaders at the Port of Durban. The shiploaders have been used for over 50 years to load sugar onto vessels at the South African Sugar Association’s iconic sugar terminal.
The two shiploaders – commissioned in 1965 by Moreland Technical & Engineering Consultants – needed to be refurbished in line with Transnet’s upgrade of berths at Maydon Wharf.
“The original 850 tph shiploaders were designed to feed onto 35000-tonne Handymax vessels, but with upgrades at the port designed to allow for a deeper draught and the berthing of 80 000-tonne Panamax vessels, modernisation of these machines was critical if they were to remain in operation,” explained Dave Chappelow, sector director: industrial, Bosch Projects.
He highlighted that thorough inspections of these shiploaders indicated that in spite of many years of operation in aggressive seaside conditions, they were in good overall condition, with no excessive corrosion or evidence of fatigue.
“The most cost-effective solution was therefore to restore the two existing shiploaders and to incorporate them into a new substructure that could utilise a new cope quayside rail. The reconfigured substructure provides the shiploaders’ existing booms with sufficient access and clearance to service Panamax type vessels, even at the highest tides,” Chappelow pointed out.
