Case Decision - 195902

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 Powership Project at Port of Saldanha Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. 
The project entails the generation of electricity from floating mobile powerships moored in the Port of Saldanha including two ships berthing during the project lifespan namely a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU), and one Powership. 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 the preferred route needs to be approved by Transnet National Port Authority before installation but is likely to be perpendicular to the coast and run adjacent to the existing gas pipeline parallel to the Iron Ore jetty and will be approx. 3.5km in length. The pipeline will be brought to site in sections and assembled ready for installation though the final 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. 
The historic harbour in Saldanha Bay has seen a high level of recent activity and redevelopment. The proposed area for the installation of the gas pipeline is the site of a pre-existing pipeline and is likely to have been the subject of previous dredging works as it lies close the main Iron Ore Jetty. It is proposed that the pipeline will be pulled into place and laid on top of the seabed with minimal intrusion. 
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. There are no known shipwrecks in the immediate vicinity of the proposed project area. Even though the possibility of any impact may at this stage be considered low, the DSR still needs to refer to the possibility of impacts and a plan for surveying the pipe laydown area must be incorporated. During the installation of the pipeline the area must be surveyed for heritage remains prior to the laying of the pipeline. 
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 SAHRA must be notified immediately to provide further advice. 
In the first paragraph under Section 2.1.3 the gas pipeline is stated as being 600cm in diameter in size but after checking with the applicant it was established that the pipe will be 600mm (60cm) so should be changed accordingly in the DSR.