PSC Tema Shipyard Cries for Help

By Godfred Blay Gibbah

Tema — PSC Tema Shipyard and Drydock is a strategic investment that can help Ghana gain maximum benefits from its oil and gas and integrated aluminium industries, if it was working at full capacity.

The Chief Executive Officer of PSC Tema Shipyard and Drydock, Captain Francis K. B. Micah, said this last Friday during a tour of the facility by the media.

Though functional, the facility had seen little upgrading with most of the equipment needing to be replaced to enable it work fully.

Capt. Micah, outlining the relevance of his outfit to government's development agenda noted that, it was an important partner in the development of Ghana's oil and gas, and integrated aluminium industries, adding that it could rake in lots of foreign exchange and generate more employment, if it was supported to function at full capacity.

He explained that apart from ship repair and drydocking, the facility was designed to undertake steel and aluminium fabrication to build ships, shore installations for bridges, platform supply vessels and barges, among other things, adding "the facility can use a considerable amounts of the aluminium produced here if it is upgraded."

He said last year the firm worked on 94 ships and this year 30 ships had been recorded, pointing out that the company had a vigorous training scheme to keep employees abreast of current development.

According to Capt. Micah, 5,000 vessels, on the average, call at Takoradi and Tema ports, noting that, if the drydock was viable and operating at full capacity most of them would visit the facility, "and the country would rake in so much revenue not to mention employment opportunity."

He said though the prominence of its size and its closeness to the Gulf of Guinea made it a drydock of choice to vessels involved in oil activities in the area, but due to capacity challenges, most of them travelled elsewhere for drydock services.

Capt. Micah said the expansion project going on in Tema and Takoradi ports would increase business at the ports, and therefore, the shipyard and drydock needed to be ready to receive more clients.

The PSC Tema shipyard and drydock was established in 1965 by government during the construction of the Tema harbor; it provides services such as ship maintenance and repair, oil and gas industrial services, civil engineering, heavy steel and aluminium fabrication, shipbuilding and general engineering services, among others.

This year, the Ministry of Transport was tasked to look for a strategic investor to partner government to run the facility, and Capt. Micah is hopeful that the ministry would soon get the investor to help upgrade and shepherd the shipyard to realise its full potential.

He said in July the firm received ISO 45100 safety certification in conformity with international law governing its operations.

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