Two new tugs are now operating under the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) at Maputo Port in Mozambique.

MPDC is the consortium which has a lease to operate the port up until 2033. It is a consortium between the publicly owned port and rail company, CFM (with 49 per cent of the shares), and its private sector partner Portus Indico, with 51 per cent. Portus Indico is formed by DP World of Dubai, Grindrod of South Africa, and the local firm Mocambique Gestores.

Osorio Lucas, MPDC Chief Executive Office, says, “The two tugs, the ‘Sereia’ and the ‘Bulani’, were specifically designed for the needs of Maputo port, and between them cost around 15 million US dollars.”

They are operated by P & O Maritime, which in 2012 won the contract to provide MPDC with marine services including pilotage, mooring services and the crewing and maintenance of tugs, pilot boats and mooring craft. Lucas told reporters this was an example of the MPDC policy of outsourcing services which it does not regard as forming part of its core operations.

The new tugs are part of the port master plan under which total investments of $1.8 billion dollars are to be made in order to raise the port’s handling capacity to 50 million tonnes a year by 2033.

Source: allAfrica.com