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Power ships rejected on environment grounds: Reason ultimately triumphs

The FF Plus welcomes the recent announcement by the Department of Environmental Affairs that the applications for docking three power ships in South African harbours have been rejected. The plans were shrouded in controversy right from the start based on the following three considerations: The term of twenty years prescribed in the contracts; the process at Mineral Resources and Energy; and the impact on the environment.

Internationally, power ships are marketed as emergency measures only. The basic idea is that large cargo ships, which have been transformed into power stations, dock at some part of the world experiencing a temporary power shortage after, for instance, an earthquake or a tsunami. When normal power supply has been restored, the ships depart again.

On the 8th of April, the FF Plus expressed its suspicions that irregularities in the awarding of these contracts may come to light. And since then, the Daily Maverick, in particular, has published various reports focusing on claims that the processes have been manipulated. The recent rejection based on environmental grounds may, however, cause the interest in possible irregularities to wane.

Nonetheless, environmental issues were one of the greatest causes for concern right from the outset. On the one hand, there is the main energy source, namely gas, that must be supplied to the ships; and on the other hand, there is the impact of the ships on the immediate marine environment. That is the basis on which the process has been halted.

South Africa has come a long way since its negotiations with the Russian nuclear power supplier, Rosatom. Opting to use power ships as emergency power suppliers made it seem as if the country was regressing in that regard. But this announcement restores faith in the required processes.

 

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