The Port of Cape Town is experiencing pressure on its ship-servicing and marine-surveyor services due to insufficient capacity, says Arthur James, head of maritime law at law firm Webber Wentzel Bowens, according to a report on www.businessday.co.za. James has warned that if nothing is done, the city’s port might soon lose lucrative business to other ports such as Walvis Bay, Luanda and Maputo, costing jobs and economic growth. He said the ship repairs and oil-rig maintenance sector contributed R1,5bn a year to Western Cape’s economy. It could support as many as 2500 jobs when a large oil rig, for example, was being repaired. “So it is a huge contributor to the economic success of the region,” he said. Right now, the repair facility was stretched to capacity, and work was being lost.
