11 December 2023
In November 2022, SHG announced that St Helena would receive funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s bespoke 2022/2023: Improving Essential Equipment in Overseas Territories’ Programme.
St Helena was allocated up to £1,800,000 for the purchase of equipment of critical importance to the Island, in areas including healthcare, emergency services, port operations, road maintenance and the airport.
Focus on the Safety, Security & Home Affairs Portfolio
£649,171.73 was allocated to the Safety, Security & Home Affairs Portfolio. This was used to purchase six marine outboard engines (plus accessories and training) for the Sea Rescue Service, and a Reach Stacker for Port Control.
Reach Stacker
£557,205.43 was allocated to Port Control to purchase a KALMAR ECO Reach Stacker. This reach stacker has been commissioned and will be used to improve and future proof cargo operations at Rupert’s new Cargo Facility once operational. The new reach stacker will operate alongside of the existing stacker between the port and container storage area, enabling containers to be stacked five high if needed.
Marine Outboard Engines
£91,966.30 was allocated to the Sea Rescue Service to purchase three 150hp 4 stroke standard rotation engines, and three 150hp 4 stroke counter rotation engines, along with tools and accessories. These engines are more fuel efficient (around 65%) providing long term savings for the government.
Two of these engines have been fitted on the Sea Rescue vessel Ocean Rider. Ocean Rider is one of the 8.5 metre Gemini fast response vessels. These are a critical element of the Sea Rescue Service, which is essential for response to maritime incidents around the Island as well as for St Helena Airport to continue to operate under its license terms. Two of the remaining engines will be installed on the other 8.5 meter Gemini fast response vessel, Sea Lion, in the coming weeks. The final two will be used as the redundancy system for the four that will be online.
In addition to the purchase of the equipment, staff also received training in South Africa for their installation and maintenance.
Director of the Safety, Security & Home Affairs Portfolio, Alex Mitham, commented:
“We would like to extend our gratitude to Richard James International Ltd for all their invaluable support in ensuring the equipment was purchased and arrived safely to St Helena. Our special thanks as well to Kalmar Global for securing the stacker and providing expert technical assistance in rebuilding the machine when it arrived in St Helena. We believe this to now be the remotest Kalmar stacker in the world!”
“Our appreciation goes out to Gemini as well for the vital Sea Rescue engines which will future proof the Sea Rescue Service and its ability to respond to maritime incidents for another 10 years. And last but certainly not least, thanks go to the FCDO for actually providing the funding in the first place. None of this would have been able to happen without the kind generosity of the UK Government.”
Photos
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SHG
11 December 2023