Sunrise Energy regrets to inform the public that rough, stormy seas and adverse weather conditions will delay deliveries of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) at its terminal at Saldanha Bay Port. As a result, the terminal expects to deplete supplies or ‘stock out’ of LPG today, Wednesday 25 August 2021.
An extreme cold front is expected to make landfall on Thursday morning. High sea swells ahead of the cold front have caused the Port Authority to suspend entry to the port. As a consequence of the Port Authority’s decision, ships carrying LPG destined for delivery to the Sunrise Energy facility has been unable to berth at our Marine Offloading Facility using our Multi-Buoy Mooring (MBM) point this week.
One of the LPG supply ships was delayed in loading its cargo in Chile before departing for Saldanha Bay, also because of the stormy weather conditions. This delay meant that it was unable to discharge its LPG cargo before the rough seas arrived on the West Coast, thereby preventing the vessel’s entry to the Saldanha Bay port.
Maximum swells of 2.5 to 2.7m have already been reported inside the Port Channel, with 20 knot wind speeds. Weather alerts report that poor weather conditions can be expected for the next 10 days.
The Ports Authority will be monitoring the weather on an hourly basis and will try to berth the ship at the first possible opportunity.
We are proud that Sunrise Energy’s MBM infrastructure has performed faultlessly throughout this winter. We also have full confidence that the Port Authority will grant permission for LPG supply ships to safely enter the port and berth as soon as reasonably possible and safe to do so.
About the author : Simon McCausland
