|
Dar oil jetty ’set for improvement’
2006-02-20 07:16:17
By Guardian Reporter
Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) says it has taken measures to speed up the offloading of petroleum products at Dar es Salaam’s Kurasini Oil Jetty.
TPA Corporate Communications Manager Franklin Mziray said in a statement that the authority would start fixing air eliminators in the flow meters installed at the jetty this week following the delivery of the parts from Germany.
A local firm, Premia Agencies, has been contracted to undertake the job expected to be completed in a month’s time.
’’The eliminators will enhance both the speed of discharging and efficiency in metering of imported oil at the jetty,’’ Mziray said in the statement.
He added that TPA did not foresee a shortage of oil products as a result of improvements to be carried out at the jetty.
The TPA official said the situation at Dar es Salaam Port was sometimes complicated by importers themselves who brought in several tankers carrying the same product at the same time, adding that this meant that the vessels had to queue for berthing space.
He said there was also a financial dimension to delays experienced at the jetty because most tankers retained cargo on board until importers paid for it in full.
Meanwhile, Mziray allayed fears of an outbreak of a major fire at the jetty, saying the Port Fire and Safety Unit had an elaborate preventive and crisis management plan in place.
He said the jetty was fully equipped with a modern fire fighting system which cost 1.2bn/-. The system has three pumps each capable of pumping 500 cubic metres of water per hour.
Every vulnerable point was protected by sprinkler systems and foam dispensers, Mziray said, adding that several fire detectors were also strategically allocated within every building at the jetty.
Two major oil firms, namely BP and Gapco, are always on standby to provide help in case of a major fire incident.
Fire fighting exercises were carried out on a monthly basis and the fire fighting system was tested weekly, Mziray said.
Mziray said further that the jetty got a support from the TPA fire brigade, ’’which is the best in the country’’. Additionally, qualified fire fighters are stationed at the terminal 24 hours a day.
He said five fully equipped harbour tugs were also on hand to tackle any emergency.
TPA issued the statement in response to a story published last week in The Guardian in which oil companies voiced their concern about ’’inefficiency’’ at the jetty.
They also cited safety shortcomings, saying that a major fire accident was imminent.
|
