REGULUS

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Row over million Rand-damage in dock accident

The "Go Regulus" was being at the centre of a row over the R18-million damage it sustained in a dry dock blunder at Cape Town. She suffered damage to her bow and stern in December when a caisson gate in the Sturrock dry dock prematurely opened while part of the dock was filling up. Water flooding into the dock resulted in a knock-on effect as the Go Regulus collided with the ships docked behind and in front of her. Just two weeks earlier the vessel’s hull was damaged in the same dry dock after staff mixed up the docking blocks‚ causing a series of hull indentations. Following the incident in December 2016 the vessel was marooned in the nearby Robinson dry dock for several weeks while Transnet National Port Authority and ship repairers tussled over the repair bill. She has since been moved‚ but TNPA has refused to accept liability for the incident. The "Go Regulus" had been served with notice to vacate the dry dock and that the vessel's owners had requested a further 14 days. The dry dock gate reportedly had insufficient ballast water‚ causing it to pop open. EBH SA was in discussions with TNPA in an attempt to resolve the matter.

Offshore ship damaged in dock

Dry dock personnel at the ship repair company EBH in Cape Town placed the "Go Regulus" on the wrong blocks in the Sturrock Dry Dock on Dec 3, 2016, resulting in hull damage as the water was pumped from the dry dock chamber and the ship settled on incorrect blocks. The "Go Regulus" has sustained limited damage to the hull due to the inadvertent misinterpretation of drawings submitted. EBH SA was working closely with Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to resolve the matter as speedily as possible. Meanwhile the second caisson used to separate the dock into two chambers, began to collapse, causing water to pour into the dock unexpectedly on Dec 7. The "Go Regulus" nearly turned sideways as it knocked into a vessel behind it and the sides of the dock. The factory trawler "Longda" slipped backward out of the way of the other vessels. The cost of the damage to the vessels and the dry dock still had to be determined. All three vessels have been moved out of the dry dock. The offshore supply vessel took further damage to her side and bottom hull and another inspection will have to be conducted to determine the extent of damage. Report with photo and video: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/watch-vessels-collide-in-port-of-cape-town-dry-dock-20161209