Durban will host one of only four dredging schools in the world after the unveiling of a R29 million dredging simulator.
|||Durban - South Africa took a step closer to being Africa’s maritime leader with the unveiling of a R29 million dredging simulator in Durban on Friday.
The facility launched by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in conjunction with the Netherlands company Royal IHC will become part of TNPA’s Dredging School that it plans to launch in 2017.
TNPA hopes the school will train at least 50 people over a three year period and ensure that the country maintains the necessary skills to keep dredging the country’s ports.
The Dredging School will become one of only four such schools worldwide that trains people in connection with all aspects of dredging. Only the Netherlands, China and the United States have schools where people can be trained in the art of dredging.
The simulator will help hone critical technical skills needed for pipe operators, dredge masters and dredging managers.
TNPA chief executive Richard Vallihu said that the facility would help TNPA to support ports in Southern Africa to develop maritime skills and grow their economies.
“A number of regional ports are also ramping up plans to expand port capacity including major dredging projects, so we would like to be in a position to provide human capacity for that as well in the near future,” he said.
The multi-million rand simulator mimics the control panel of an actual dredging vessel, complete with environmental simulation of weather conditions, sea states, and types of soil being dredged. The simulator should provide practices that will ultimately reduce accidents and even loss of life.
Transnet’s chief human resources officer Nonkululeko Shisi, said: “The comprehensive knowledge about dredging technology and skills development on the dredger simulator will facilitate the enhancement of maritime expertise in South Africa and will give TNPA a competitive edge in the region”.
African News Agency