As part of its ongoing commitment to support South Africa’s Operation Phakisa programme, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) said that they have completed the replacement and installation of capstans in four dry dock facilities to enhance productivity at their largest and busiest ports in Durban and Cape Town.
TNPA said that they invested over R200 million to replace all 37 capstans at the dry dock facilities of the Durban and Cape Town ports, standardising the ship repair equipment. “A capstan is a driven machine used in dry dock operations, constructed and installed to assist in the warping of vessels and to amplify the pulling force of the marine crew when hauling ropes. TNPA initiated the replacement project following a condition assessment that identified a need to upgrade all capstans due to frequent breakdowns, ageing, and unavailability of maintenance spares.”
TNPA added that the new capstans are equipped with hydraulic systems and Human Machine Interface (HMI), a novel feature, demonstrating TNPA’s ability to leverage technology to enhance operational efficiency in line with maritime industry best practice.”
“The associated electrical upgrades which now have the electrical connections in parallel, will eliminate the previous series connection which resulted in multiple outages, causing issues such as breakdowns leading to complete system shutdowns and halted production,” said TNPA.
Acting TNPA chief executive, Advocate Phyllis Difeto said that the implementation of the Operation Phakisa programme provides strategic business value for ports, with marine manufacturing and ship repair facilities being identified as focal areas of the Ocean Economy to unlock Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employment creation. “The primary goal of our ongoing infrastructure investment is to increase competitiveness and deliver improved ship repair facilities, which results in increased levels of productivity in marine operations.”
TNPA said that they are already realising the benefits of the upgraded capstans. “In July 2024, the Port of Durban’s Price Edward Dry Dock marked its first historic milestone by docking a record-breaking five marinecrafts for the first time since its construction in the 1920s. The dock reached its maximum capacity of 350 m in length.”
TNPA added that these rotating machines, which assist in pulling the vessels into position inside the dock, are being replaced in the Port of Cape Town at various locations and are divided into 12 at Sturrock Dry Dock, 10 at Robinson Dry Dock, and seven at Synchrolift, and Port of Durban’s Prince Edward Dry Dock made up of eight capstans.
The Mercury