The Port of Takoradi has secured a multi-purpose Tugboat with 80 tons Bollard-pulls to enable it attract larger ships that do not fit in the original canal locks, such as supertankers and the largest modern container and passenger ships.
A tugboat or tug is a type of vessel that maneuvers other vessels by pushing or pulling them either by direct contact or by means of a tow line. Tugs typically move vessels that either are restricted in their ability to maneuver on their own, such as ships in a crowded harbour or a narrow canal.
Tugboats are powerful for their size and strongly built, and some serve as icebreakers or salvage boats. Early tugboats had steam engines, but today most have diesel engines. Many tugboats have firefighting monitors, allowing them to assist in firefighting, especially in harbours.
The Director of Takoradi Port, Captain Ebenezer Afedzi, who spoke during the arrival of the Commander Dovlo Multipurpose Tugboat, said it will make the Port more efficient at a critical time of the Port’s expansion.
“This Tug with 80 tons Bollard- pulls can easily push and pull, and that is the most significant thing that it is bringing on board; because of its power, handling big vessels now will be very simple and easy for us. Before the arrival of this Tugboat, we were using a 60 Toner Bollard-pull vessel. We had two 60 Toner Bollard-pull vessels. But as I said, this is far stronger, so the job the previous ones did will be done simpler by this new one. This is actually in to prepare us, to position us very well as a strategic port and the most efficient port. All ports in West Africa inclusive us want to be the most efficient” he noted.
About $475 million Takoradi Port expansion project
Ghana in August 2019, started the construction work on the multi-purpose Atlantic Terminal Services on-dock facility at the Takoradi Port, which will entail an investment of $475m.
The expansion of Takoradi Port is part of government’s strategy to make Ghana a trans-shipment hub in the West African Sub-region.
The project is being executed on EPC basis by a joint venture (JV) of Ibistek, an ingenious Ghanaian company, and the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA). The Royal Haskoning DHV is offering technical consultation.
The first phase of the project was launched in Takoradi on 2nd August 2019, and the scope of the project includes construction of a 600m quay wall with pavement, while the port basin will be dredged to a 16m depth.
It will also include land reclamation to construct five new berths to enable the port to accommodate larger vessels. The first phase is expected to cost $200m and is slated to complete in next two years.
The Atlantic terminal, when completed, will have a cargo holding capacity of one million twenty-footer equivalent units (TEUs).