DORMAC :: Richards Bay - On the upper east coast South Africa

Overview

Richards Bay is situated 160 km northeast of Durban. The Port of Richards Bay was built in 1976 for the export of coal, and operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Since the turn of the century, Richards Bay has gradually expanded from being South Africa’s Premier Coal Port, to South Africa’s Premier Bulk Port. This has been achieved by handling an increasing variety of bulk, neo bulk and break bulk. In fact, it could be said that much of the general cargo, previously handled in Durban, as migrated away to Richards Bay over the recent years.

The Port of Richards Bay currently occupies 2,157 ha of land area, 1,495 ha of water area and has the potential to expand whenever required. The Port currently has 21 operational berths in service and there are already expansion projects in progress to increase capacity for the Coal and Bulk berths. Richards Bay consists of a Dry Bulk Terminal, a Multi Purpose Terminal and privately operated Coal, Woodchip and Bulk Liquid Terminals. The Port currently has no ship repair facilities, however a large facility is being planned and a dry or floating dock is under consideration. Ship repair is undertaken on the quayside and has to be coordinated and planned with vessels staying berthed alongside. 

This been said, DORMAC Richards Bay, strives to supply a full and efficient service in the Industrial and Marine fields. The backbone of this branch is the unified spirit of its staff and management, whose highly competitive and motivated nature allows them to provide a highly efficient and professional service in both fields. As mentioned earlier, ship repairs are coordinated and planned around a vessel’s stay in Port, however, there are occasions when emergency repairs are required.

The Port will allocate an available berth to carry out these repairs. Although, the port lacks a dedicated repair quay, dry or floating Dock, DORMAC is still able to offer the following marine services:

1. FITTING
2. ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL WORK
3. STEEL WORK
4. FABRICATION
5. AC AND REEFER PLANT REPAIRS
6. SPARE PARTS
7. COFFERDAM REPAIRS
8. UNDERWATER SERVICES
9. MAIN ENGINE REPAIRS
10. ENGINE ROOM AND TANK CLEANING

Successful past projects

• BULKHEAD RENEWALS
• HATCH COVERS
• CRANE REPAIRS
• FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION OF ACCESS LADDERS AND PLATFORMS
• OVERHAULING AND REWINDING OF ALL MOTORS

As the Port of Richards Bay expands and develops further over the next few years, potentially developing into one of the world’s busiest bulk loading ports, we at DORMAC Richards Bay will be looking to expand our services to match its growth and expansion.