Case Decision - 195852

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) would like to thank you for submitting the Draft Scoping Report and plan of study for EIA for the Proposed Gas to Power via Powership Project at Port of Richards Bay, uMhlathuze, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The project entails the generation of electricity from floating mobile powerships moored in the Port of Richards Bay including three ships berthing during the project lifespan namely a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU), and two Powerships. A subsea gas pipeline will connect the FSRU to the powership and a transmission line from the powership will
feed the substation and national grid.
Although most of the proposed project is land based, the Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage (MUCH) unit is required to comment on the proposed subsea gas pipeline. The DSR indicates that there are two proposed alternative routes for the pipeline, route 1 (the preferred route) is approximately 1400m long and the 2nd alternative is 500m long. The pipeline will be brought to site in sections and assembled ready for installation though the installation method has yet to be established.
As part of the project a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) was undertaken for the terrestrial based activity to assess any possible impacts on heritage, though no work was undertaken to assess any maritime impacts.
Historic photos and maps produced in the HIA show the development of the port and how the area where the powerships will be located has been subject to extensive development in recent years to form a jetty and a mooring area. The subsea gas pipeline will be located in an area that has been previously dredged.
Due to this high level of recent activity and development in the area the MUCH unit at SAHRA considers the possibility of any impact on maritime heritage resources to be low. However, the laydown area for the pipeline must be surveyed for heritage resources prior to the laying of the pipeline. Should the survey data reveal any resources of interest, input on mitigation of impacts to such resources must be sought from a suitably qualified specialist. The SAHRA reserves the right to impose no-go areas around any identified heritage resources and the potential for rerouting therefore exists. The applicant is therefore encouraged to undertake the survey during the early stages of the project to avoid unnecessary delays.
While the possibility of encountering heritage resources is considered low, there is still a chance that historic remains could be uncovered during the works. In this case all works must cease and may not commence until SAHRA has been contacted to advise the way forward.
Please note that all updates or changes to the project, all supporting documents, correspondence, and reports relating to the work must be uploaded to the case on SAHRIS in order to provide SAHRA with the opportunity to comment.