r/Durban • u/MaxifyBenz • 13d ago

What's this monstrosity?

Post image

Look out on the horizon... Seems like a jacking platform or drilling rig with a crane.. but someone with more or better information, help us out.

254 Upvotes

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28

u/NuffingNuffing 13d ago

It’s a specialized type of ship designed to lift and transport extremely heavy loads, often used in offshore construction projects such as:

  • Installing and maintaining oil rigs
  • Constructing wind farms at sea
  • Lifting and placing large bridge or port structures
  • Handling other oversized marine equipment

The tall A-frame-like structures you see are the crane booms, and the massive size of the vessel allows it to remain stable while lifting huge weights at sea.

In the background to the right, you can also see what looks like a bulk carrier or cargo ship.

2

u/River_Fenrir 13d ago

Does this mean they gonna drill off our coastline?

5

u/Pizza-Popular 13d ago

Yep, they found oil there a couple years back. There were campaigns in Eastern cape trying to stop it . I guess the fat cats won again

4

u/River_Fenrir 13d ago

If they do drill here, it should at least be for our economy. I hate that its all friggen Chinese

3

u/ruthacury 13d ago

Finding oil would be great for our economy if it were managed well (see Norway). However, this is South Africa, and Cyril needs his new BMW.

2

u/River_Fenrir 13d ago

My Father works for Engen, he told me the reason Engen closed their refineries, is due to the fact, each gallon of crude oil, produces 0.46 gallons of petrol, 0.13 gallons of diesel etc etc.

And we primarily use more petrol than diesel as consumers, so it's far more cost-effective to just import the quantities needed and store the fuel.