Woodchip fire damages 80 m of conveyors at Richards Bay Bulk Terminal
A fire that broke out on the woodchips route of the Richards Bay Bulk Terminal has damaged 80 m of two conveyor belts at the facility, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has confirmed.
The sprinkler system and the terminal’s emergency response, however, managed to limit the damage caused by the fire, sparing the rest of the structure.
TPT said that, to ensure continuity and in agreement with the customer, the vessel on berth at the time was diverted to the Durban Multipurpose Terminal for loading export woodchips.
TPT noted that all teams are on site repairing the damaged belts to ensure operations can resume before the end of the week. An investigation is also under way to establish the cause of the fire.
Woodchip fires are notoriously ferocious and difficult to extinguish, especially when they are fanned by the wind, TPT emphasises.
Previously, a massive woodchip fire at the nearby Natal Cooperative Timbers (NCT) Richards Bay facility ignited on September 30, 2023, raging on until October 12, 2023, when it was finally extinguished.
The 2023 fire destroyed 200 000 t of woodchips and caused severe damage to the facility’s infrastructure, requiring the combined efforts of multiple firefighting teams and local businesses to bring it under control.
It took more than a year for the damaged NCT woodchipping lanes to return to normal production levels.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Showroom
Supplier & Distributor of the Widest Range of Accurate & Easy-to-Use Alcohol Breathalysers
VISIT SHOWROOM
AxFlow AQS Liquid Transfer (Pty) Ltd is an Importer and Distributor of Pumps in Southern Africa
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
