Damen Cape Town delivers versatile plow tug
Written by Nick Blenkey
Used for bed-bed leveling to complement the work of dredges, plow tug Monhasa replaces a 50-year old tug used for this work.[Photo: Damen]
South Africa’s Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) last month took delivery of a new plow dredging tug from Damen Shipyards Cape Town. TNPA uses plow dredging for bed leveling to smooth out high spots created by marine traffic in high-volume berth areas and the new plow tug will complement the work of TNPA’s dredges. Called Mohoma (meaning “to plow” in the Lesotho language), it replaces the 50-year old plow tug Impisi,
The Mohoma, is a versatile, seagoing workboat designed for both harbor and coastal services.
Based on a standardized Damen design the vessel is well-suited to a range of maritime tasks, operating efficiently in shallow and deeper waters with unrestricted sailing capability. Damen Cape Town’s extensive experience in constructing low maintenance vessels ensured that all installed high-quality components are optimally laid out for easy maintenance.
“We are honored to deliver this state-of-the-art plow tug to TNPA,” said Sefale Montsi, director of Damen Shipyards Cape Town. “This vessel has 45 tonnes of bollard pull, is 32 meters long and 9 meters wide, and can plow up to 25 meters deep. With a spacious working deck, this versatile workboat will serve as an asset for TNPA’s ports and dredging operations. It showcases the Damen Group’s design knowledge, the skill of our South African shipbuilding team and our first-class local equipment manufacturers and co-makers.”
The vessel was officially handed over during a ceremony held in Durban on May 17. Its acquisition is part of TNPA’s ongoing fleet upgrade program, aimed at expanding port capacity to accommodate larger vessels and meet growing demand.
“The demand for dredging services has increased in the region, and the addition of this plow tug will increase the berth capacity of the ports,” said Dr Popo Molefe, chairperson of the Transnet Board of Directors. “Managing the demand is part of TNPA’s growth plan, which will see the continuous improvement of port infrastructure.”
“This project has played an important role in creating skilled new jobs through the Cape Town training center,” said Christopher Huvers, Damen Cape Town’s regional sales director for Africa. “Furthermore, the project has acted as a catalyst for the development and localisation of our supply chains. We are proud to claim that we delivered a vessel in Africa for Africa, with an overachievement of local content used”.
“The Damen standard design allows for long-term low operational costs and high-level multipurpose performance, which includes dredging, towing, pushing and harbor maintenance, buoy-and-anchor handling,” Huvers added.
