The arrival of the first of two new, powerful tugboats bound for the Port of Port Elizabeth marked the first milestone in a R1.4-billion nine-tugboat contract to bolster the efficiency of the ports’ marine operations countrywide, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) said on Monday.

The delivery of Mvezo, which left appointed contractor Southern African Shipyards’ Durban premises on Saturday, formed part of a 42-month tug building project, which kicked off in August 2014.

Despite having 29 tugs in service nationally, there was a growing need for bigger, stronger tugboat fleets to service the increasingly frequent docking of larger commercial vessels at South African ports.

The nine new tugs, measuring 31 m long, boasted a 70 t bollard pull, compared with the older tugs with a 32.5 t to 40 t pull, TNPA marine operations senior manager Eugene Rappetti said.

The Durban-based Southern African Shipyards also built TNPA’s previous 12 tugs.

Along with the two tugs allocated to the Eastern Cape-based port, the ports of Durban and Richards Bay would each get two new tugs, while Saldanha, which handles the largest carriers, would receive three tugs.

It was expected that, following the handover of the first tug, one tug would be launched every three months until completion in early 2018.

Southern African Shipyards said it had created 500 direct and 3 500 indirect jobs through the project.

“We have also committed to ensuring that each tug has a minimum of 60% locally manufactured components, while partnering with international companies on the remaining aspects that cannot be manufactured here, for example the engines and propulsion units,” explained CEO Prasheen Maharaj.

Further, a number of national and international training and development opportunities are being created for local employees, with TNPA planning to send employees to Germany for training on the new propulsion units, which were sourced from Voith Schneider.

They would also receive training locally for four to six weeks.

“The building of Mvezo and the eight other tugs in this project, demonstrates that this country has the expertise to compete in the global shipbuilding industry and to use the maritime economy to unlock the economic potential of South Africa, in line with the government’s Operation Phakisa initiative,” said TNPA CEO Richard Vallihu.