EBH Namibia meets tight deadlines on five tug contract

Outstanding performance by the EBH Namibia’s propulsion, mechanical, fabrication and rigging teams contributed to the overall success of all five Svitzer projects

APRIL 13, 2016 — Ship repairer EBH Namibia (EBHN) last year won a contract to maintain and repair five tugs being operated by Maersk Group subsidiary Svitzer from the port of Soyo, located on the mouth of the Congo River in the province of Zaire, Angola,

Svitzer’s tugs serve the company’s primary client in the region, Angola LNG, a joint undertaking between Chevron and Sonogol.

Delivered new to Svitzer in 2011, all five 80 ton tugs were due for a special survey and also needed modification to their thrusters.

As there is consistent – and frequently urgent – operational demand for all five tugs, Svitzer released one tug at a time to be attended to by EBHN.

The client’s requirement for quick turnaround times was therefore critically important, as having a tug out of service could have meant substantial revenue losses.

“Considering that it is approximately the same distance from Soyo to Walvis Bay, Namibia as it is to the West African shipyards in countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, it is very noteworthy that Svitzer chose EBHN as its preferred maintenance and repair partner,” says EBHN’s Commercial and Marketing Manager Willie Esterhuyse.

“EBHN was the closest service provider with a respected name and a good reputation,” says Mr. Peter de Raaf, Regional Technical Manager at Svitzer MEA.

The Svitzer projects also involved the achievement of several ground-breaking company “firsts” and records successfully achieved by EBHN, which says that outstanding performance by the shipyard’s propulsion, mechanical, fabrication and rigging teams contributed to the overall success of all the projects in record time.

“The remarkably short turnaround time on all five Svitzer projects was the result of absolutely seamless EBHN teamwork,” says Hannes Uys, CEO of EBH Namibia.