FOR the first time in its 90-year history, the Durban dry dock is undergoing a repair job costing R30-million.
Over the next four months repairs will be made to the outer caisson of the dock. A caisson is a large steel chamber that seals the dock, keeping it dry for the necessary work to be done on vessels. The outer caisson, which is in need of repairs, is 35 metres long, 14 metres high and six metres wide. It weighs 900 tonnes.
During routine maintenance it was found that it required further repairs to address 90 years of corrosion.
The repair work should run from July to November, with August and September earmarked as the months where the dry dock will be out of commission. Operations should resume on 6 October, while the full repairs should be completed by 12 November.
Channel Construction, which has been appointed to complete the repairs, confirmed that all materials will be locally sourced and a total of 66 jobs will be created during the refurbishment. Durban port manager, Moshe Motlohi said the caisson repair forms part of Transnet National Port Authority’s (TNPA) long-term project for the dry dock, which includes repairs to the concrete, crane rails, overhead cranes and inner caisson.
It also comprises installing two new Job cranes and six compressors, upgrading the mechanical pump house, replacing the floating dock and the equipment in workshop 24 and installing a new fire fighting system and Capstans. All of this falls into the government’s Operation Phakisa – a project to create economic possibilities through the country’s oceans and maritime operations.
“This repair project should restore confidence and improve safety for dry dock users and should create new revenue in the future,” said. Motlohi.
