Case Decision - 195993

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) would like to thank you for submitting the Final Scoping Report and plan of study for EIA for the Proposed Gas to Power via Powership Project at Port of Ngqura within the Coega SEZ, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The project entails the generation of electricity from floating mobile powerships moored in the Port of Ngqura 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 FSR indicates that there are two proposed alternative routes for the pipeline, the first is routed along the eastern edge of the existing breakwater towards the craft basin and is approximately 1.4km long, the 2nd alternative is routed along the eastern breakwater and existing roads and is approx. 0.7km long. The pipeline will be brought to site in sections and assembled ready for installation, the pipeline is likely to be mounted on small footings.
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 proposed pipeline is likely to be laid next to the existing modern breakwater, this area has seen a high level of recent activity as the Port of Ngqura is a recent development. In 2004 during the development of the port, the wreck of the County of Pembroke was uncovered. She wrecked in 1903 when she ran aground in Algoa Bay during a storm, her hulk was later moved further around the bay and sunk. When the remains of the wreck were discovered, she was the subject of emergency archaeological recording before being blown up and removed, her metal was sold to scrap dealers and some of the artefacts were retained and donated to the Bayworld Museum.
Despite the discovery of a shipwreck during construction of the port, subsequent further development and dredging of the area means that 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.