New pilot vessel for African port

Ireland-based Safehaven Marine delivered the Sanaag pilot vessel to DP World’s Berbera development at the Port of Berbera in Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia. This is the fourth pilot boat that Safehaven Marine have supplied to DP World.

‘Sanaag’, one of Safehaven’s Interceptor 38 pilot vessels, is powered by Caterpillar C7 350hp engines and ZF V drive gearboxes through conventional stern gear.

The vessel’s hull is heavily fendered all round with a combination of main gunwale, diagonals and a lower run as well as employing Safehaven’s own sacrificial boarding fender to provide additional protection at the shoulders.

A bow pusher allows Sanaag to assist in docking of small ships in port if called upon. High and low level pilot boarding railings as well as a Hadrian safety rail ensure safety on deck. MOB recovery is via Safehaven’s transom lift, which can be manually operated and quickly deployed.

An aft deck external steering position facilitates the safe manoeuvring of the boat in any recovery situation. The vessel is also fitted with an array of navigation equipment including radar, GPS plotter, sounder, AIS and Sailor VHF radios.

The build and sea trials were managed by P&O Maritime Logistics.

By Rebecca Jeffrey