An aerial view of the Durban shipyard and slipway of Elgin Brown Hamer, which has been purchased by Cape Town-based DCD Group for an undisclosed amount.
South Africa’s oldest ship repair company, Durban-based Elgin Brown Hamer (EBH), has been sold to Cape Town-based DCD Group for an undisclosed amount.
The takeover, which has been an open secret in maritime circles, has been on the cards since 2011 but was finally confirmed in an announcement last week. It strengthens the DCD Group’s ship repair and maintenance capabilities, notably in Durban, East London, and Walvis Bay.
The merger of interests is expected to double DCD Marine’s annual turnover from R500 million to about R1 billion.
The deal includes EBH’s involve-ment in the Namibian port of Walvis Bay, where EBH introduced two floating docks similar to the one they operate in Durban. The difference is that in Walvis Bay, the local port authority Namport holds a 51 percent majority share in the business and is encouraging growth in ship repair at the port.
Similar efforts in South Africa – at Cape Town and Durban – have been thwarted by Transnet’s indecision over a ship repair policy.
Before engaging Namport in discussions that led to EBH setting up a ship repair yard with at first one, then a second, and from August a third even larger floating dock to cater for the increasing number of oil and gas support vessels at Walvis Bay, EBH approached Transnet to establish a floating dock at the port of Cape Town. After five years of waiting in vain for a response the Durban firm gave up and went to the Walvis Bay port authority, where the idea met with full co-operation.
As a result of the buyout of all EBH interests in South Africa and Namibia, the Cape Town firm now gains access to new shipping clients along the entire South African coastline from Durban, East London and Cape Town, to Walvis Bay and beyond.
“The rationale behind the acquisition was to leverage EBH’s strong brand and DCD Marine’s established industry track record to boost global competitiveness. The marine cluster will now be able to offer clients several docking possibilities at various ports spanning the coastline, as well as a greater footprint in terms of workshop and dry dock or floating dock facilities,” said Gerry Klos, general manager of DCD Marine.
He said that EBH was highly respected in the industry, and added that EBH South Africa and EBH Namibia would continue to operate as separate entities within the DCD Marine cluster.
“EBH will retain the dry dockings, repairs and short-term jobs typically associated with fast turn-around projects. DCD Marine will at the same time continue to specialise in project management relating to repairs, upgrades and conversion projects to drill ships, drilling rigs, jack-ups and all types of offshore support vessels in the upstream oil and gas markets,” Klos said.
Rob Deane, general manager of the EBH Group, said EBH was looking forward to embracing new opportunities through being part of the DCD Marine cluster and the DCD corporate stable.
“Being part of a larger group will enhance our service offering to existing clients by giving them more options and increased access to resources and facilities, while our operational capacities around the southern African coast will improve our ability to draw more business.”
A Durban ships agent, who asked not to be identified, said the merger should be welcomed as it meant continuity in ship repair on the coast even though it also meant that EBH was no longer Durban-owned.
“Because of the uncertainty over the Bayhead area there has been some concern that ship repair facilities could diminish or even close in Durban. This development means that won’t be so and for that reason it is a welcome development,” he said.
