Daewoo plans ship repair yard in SA
South Africa could have a new ship-repair yard on land next to Richards Bay coal terminal seen here
South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) is interested in establishing a shipyard next to Richards Bay Coal Terminal to service cargo ships that operate in southern African waters.
DSME and the government see potential for a shipyard serving the large volumes of traffic passing through SA’s waters. “The South Koreans want to set up a ship repair yard and are really pushing for these things. They are keen,” Department of Transport director-general George Mahlalela said.
The shipyard may cost R40bn ($6 billion) to build and would form the platform for the company to extend other services in Africa in future. Mahlalela said DSME had identified land owned by Transnet next to the terminal for the development.
Daewoo has carried out studies on investing in a shipyard that would start operations offering repair services to vessels operating in the waters along the west and east coast of the continent before possibly diversifying its services, according to Mahlalela. As much as 30% of the world’s crude oil transits SA’s waters, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority.
Mahlalela said discussions with DSME have included issues such as ship registration and access to land. “They want access to land, next to a port, and they want us to facilitate things such as registering some of their ships in SA,” he said. “They also need agreements with some of our big exporters, such as the mining companies.”
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