TPDF, Indian navy survey Dar port

Dar es Salaam.  The naval command of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) and a crew of an Indian Naval ship have jointly conducted an historic ‘hydrographic survey’ at the Dar es Salaam Port.

The last survey at the port, meant to map the land and chart the sea and its rocks at deep sea for maritime and navigation safety, was done over 150 years ago during Germany’s colonial era.

At the weekend, the minister for Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, Prof Anna Tibaijuka, received a preliminary data report of the survey which was conducted in the last one month, a period that the Indian Naval ship, Jamuna docked at the port.

“Although one and a half centuries have passed since the last survey, our study established no major changes in the hydrographic map of Dar es Salaam harbour that would affect safety and navigation,” Indian Naval commanding officer, Capt Ajay Kumar Jolly, told The Citizen on the sideline of the handing over of the report.

The survey covered about 25km length and 19km width, the area from the port towards the ocean.

However, he said the processing and analysing of the data was still ongoing, and the release of the chart report would be the next step.

Mr Jolly said the joint survey symbolised cooperation of the two military forces, noting that the study was expected to help in the development of the port.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prof Tibaijuka said: “This is an historic occasion as this kind of survey was only done during the German colonialism in 1870s.”

She said the country needed such data because, apart from safety, it was important for economic purposes as merchants would be assured of their safety.

“For a period of 150 years, it’s clear that the position of rocks may not have remained the same. We don’t have this skill of surveying at the deep sea. Maritime safety depends on the position of the rocks,” she said.

She said when the port is seen to be safe, business activities are also facilitated.

Prof Tibaijuka pledged that the government would embark on building capacity for people in order to produce experts who can conduct such surveys at ports. For his part, High Commissioner of India, Mr Debnath Shaw termed the survey as a ‘milestone and historic.’

He said the joint move was part of a long-lived relationship between Tanzania and India since the founding fathers of the two countries.