Tema Shipyard resumes maintenance work on vessels
The PSC Tema Shipyard has taken delivery of five vessels for maintenance work. Three of the vessels came in from Lagos, Nigeria, one from Canada and the fifth from Takoradi.
The vessels are made up of two oil tankers, two cargo vessels and a tug boat.
This comes barely a month after the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) assumed supervisory role over the facility, giving assurance that the facility would soon begin to show signs of profitability.
The shipyard’s new management, which assumed office on July 4, 2016, has embarked on an aggressive marketing programme to secure vessel repair and maintenance jobs for the facility, said to be the biggest drydock and slipway facility within the West African sub-region.
The Daily Graphic on a tour of the facility last Friday saw workers busily at work on the vessels, while a cargo vessel belonging to the Woodward Group awaited its turn at the dock.
Legal titles
The leadership of the workers union, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, were, however, worried that the legal title regarding the takeover by the GPHA was yet to be released by the Attorney General’s Department.
It indicated that whereas the new development at the facility was welcoming, the delay in releasing the legal title to the GPHA had made it difficult for the new management to take policy decisions.
The Chairman of the Junior Staff Union, Mr Samuel Attram, and the Secretary of the Senior Staff Association, Mr David Ekow Doomson, admitted that while it was still early days yet, the developments so far pointed to a brighter future for the facility and the workers.
“We are, however, happy that we no longer come to work to idle about and in some cases sleep because there was no work to do,” they said.
Board of directors
They, however, reiterated calls for the Real Admiral Muniru Tahiru-led Board of Directors that supervised the previous management to allegedly run down the facility to be dissolved immediately.
They also wanted the company’s accounts, which were last audited in 2013, to be audited.
“The exit of Mr Hashim Rasheed Ali-Tunde should not halt any audit process or investigations intended to be carried out into the company’s operations by the government,” the two reiterated.
They commended the GPHA for the leadership shown and pledged their commitment which they attributed to the enthusiasm the staff were exhibiting.
They said the management of the company had reintroduced a 24-hour, three-shift system for operational staff to ensure vessel turnaround time, which would translate into increased revenue for the facility.
Writer’s email: della.russel@graphic.com.gh