More milestones for Namport
Namport invested close to N$180 million in marine service infrastructure in the 2016/17 financial year.
Otis Finck at Walvis Bay - The Namibian Port Authority (Namport) celebrated the completion of the reconstruction and relaunch of the Omanda tugboat at a value of N$25 million and the reconstruction of the small craft quay wall at a value of N$35 million in Walvis Bay on Tuesday.
Port Engineer Elzevir Gelderbloem said this was a clear indication that Namibia and Namport in particular have the capacity to implement and complete such projects without using foreign expertise.
According to Gelderbloem, Namport invested close to N$180 million in marine service infrastructure in the 2016/17 financial year alone due to the two projects and the construction of a new tugboat currently underway in Spain.
The small craft harbour which was constructed in 1983, serves as the base of operations of the Namport Marine Division. It consists of a quay wall jetty where all port authority tug boats and other floating craft as well as crew are permanently stationed.
Makeshift
Gelderbloem explained that the quay wall started showing signs of structural instability soon after it was built and said that Namport tried on several occasion during the past 30 years to patch repair the structure with all kinds of makeshift solutions.
“Several incidents of sinkholes occurred at the back of the wall due to sand leakage. Eight years ago the quay wall started showing signs of severe structural failure when its cope line began to curve outwards by as much as 300 mm due to corrosion and failure of the steel tie rods.”
Namport appointed WML Consulting engineers to conduct a comprehensive independent structural assessment. The company found that the structure completely failed and that any attempt to rehabilitate it would be extremely costly and very risky.
The best course of action in terms of technical and cost was to rebuild the structure. Shoreline Construction was appointed in March 2016 to execute the task.
The Omanda an aground and sank next to Merlus jetty while operating in the fishing harbour on 13 January 2015. The cause of the accident was found to be two out of position navigational buoys on the edge of the fishing channel which resulted in the tug sailing over the edge of the channel embankment. When this happened the hull of the Omanda was damaged, the vessel took in water and sank.
Salvaged
Gelderbloem explained that the vessel was salvaged and refloated after minor repairs by Subtech Diving and Marine on 21 January 2015 and then laid up.
The insurance assessment concluded that the vessel was a write-off.
“Namport purchased the wreck with the intention to rebuild or refurbish it since the Omanda’s hull is still in a very good condition. A similar new tugboat costs approximately N$60 million whereas the refurbishment project amounted to N$25 million.”
According to Gelderbloem Namport felt that it had the local capacity in Walvis Bay to implement a refurbishment of this scale and subsequently proved this. More than 16 contractors, suppliers and consultants worked on the project from 1 June 2015 to 30 April 2017.
Upon its successful execution the final bollard test result showed the tug has a capacity of 33.5 tons. The refurbishment also resulted in the life of the Omanda - which was constructed in 1975 - being extended by at least 15 years.
Port Engineer Elzevir Gelderbloem said this was a clear indication that Namibia and Namport in particular have the capacity to implement and complete such projects without using foreign expertise.
According to Gelderbloem, Namport invested close to N$180 million in marine service infrastructure in the 2016/17 financial year alone due to the two projects and the construction of a new tugboat currently underway in Spain.
The small craft harbour which was constructed in 1983, serves as the base of operations of the Namport Marine Division. It consists of a quay wall jetty where all port authority tug boats and other floating craft as well as crew are permanently stationed.
Makeshift
Gelderbloem explained that the quay wall started showing signs of structural instability soon after it was built and said that Namport tried on several occasion during the past 30 years to patch repair the structure with all kinds of makeshift solutions.
“Several incidents of sinkholes occurred at the back of the wall due to sand leakage. Eight years ago the quay wall started showing signs of severe structural failure when its cope line began to curve outwards by as much as 300 mm due to corrosion and failure of the steel tie rods.”
Namport appointed WML Consulting engineers to conduct a comprehensive independent structural assessment. The company found that the structure completely failed and that any attempt to rehabilitate it would be extremely costly and very risky.
The best course of action in terms of technical and cost was to rebuild the structure. Shoreline Construction was appointed in March 2016 to execute the task.
The Omanda an aground and sank next to Merlus jetty while operating in the fishing harbour on 13 January 2015. The cause of the accident was found to be two out of position navigational buoys on the edge of the fishing channel which resulted in the tug sailing over the edge of the channel embankment. When this happened the hull of the Omanda was damaged, the vessel took in water and sank.
Salvaged
Gelderbloem explained that the vessel was salvaged and refloated after minor repairs by Subtech Diving and Marine on 21 January 2015 and then laid up.
The insurance assessment concluded that the vessel was a write-off.
“Namport purchased the wreck with the intention to rebuild or refurbish it since the Omanda’s hull is still in a very good condition. A similar new tugboat costs approximately N$60 million whereas the refurbishment project amounted to N$25 million.”
According to Gelderbloem Namport felt that it had the local capacity in Walvis Bay to implement a refurbishment of this scale and subsequently proved this. More than 16 contractors, suppliers and consultants worked on the project from 1 June 2015 to 30 April 2017.
Upon its successful execution the final bollard test result showed the tug has a capacity of 33.5 tons. The refurbishment also resulted in the life of the Omanda - which was constructed in 1975 - being extended by at least 15 years.
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