The calls for tender are already public. As part of the modernization of the port sector, the Mauritius Ports Authority is getting ready to acquire two tugs of 15 to 18 tons of draft.
According to the tender, bidders have until April 2022 to submit a guarantee of one million rupees. And the two tugs will have to be in Port-Louis in 2023 to be operational.
An initiative that has been commented on in the port community, especially after the episode of the tug Sir Gaétan, which showed that the country is cruelly suffering from a lack of adequate tugs. Hence the need to provide the port authorities with more modern tugs very quickly.
According to Alain Malherbe, member of the Reform Party, it is urgent that the port is equipped with tugboats, as he has also reported on social networks. According to him, the tug Sir Edward is temporarily in dry dock, and the Mahé de Labourdonnais has had its day. In addition, he argues that the MPA rents a tug, the Tareef. He also deplores the opacity surrounding the calls for tender for the tugs.
On the side of the MPA, they assure that everything is done according to the rules. But we have not obtained more details, despite our requests.
