RICHARDS Bay is to get a second new world-class tug, which was ‘christened’ in Durban on Tuesday by President of the Zululand Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Judith Nzimande.
Nzimande marked the occasion by cracking a bottle of champagne on the side of the vessel ahead of the launch.
Maritime tradition dictates that a new ship has a woman ‘sponsor’ or godmother who blesses all who sail in her.
Nzimande said it was a great honour to have been asked to christen the tug, named ‘Usiba’ (isiZulu for ‘feather), and she would be at the Richards Bay port quayside in November to welcome her home after the vessel’s tests and trials.
Richards Bay’s first new tug, named ‘Ukhozi’, is already operational.
‘The two new tugs will facilitate further improvements to the port’s already strong productivity and efficiency standards,’ Nico Walters, TNPA’s General Manager of strategy said at the launch ceremony.
The latest new tug is the seventh off the production line at South African Shipyards (SAS) in Durban and part of a R1.4-billion, nine-tug construction contract awarded to SAS by TNPA.
It is the largest contract ever awarded to a South African company for building harbour craft.
The 31-metre long tugs have a 70-ton bollard pull, making them among the most powerful to serve at any African port.
Guests were told how TNPA and SAS had recently won a KZN Top Business Awards honour, clinching the manufacturing category for developing South Africans and ultimately strengthening the nation through shipbuilding and repair services.
Praising SAS for its pioneering spirit, technical expertise and impressive work, Walters said the project was a shining example of the potential for public-private partnerships to create jobs and grow the economy.
‘TNPA and SAS had created 500 direct and 3 500 indirect jobs with a minimum of 60 percent locally manufactured components,’ he said.
ALSO READ: WATCH: New Tug (Ukhozi) for Richards bay port
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