Power ships as a short-term solution to mitigating South Africa's energy crisis

This research paper examines the viability of using power ships—marine vehicles with installed power plants—as a short-term remedy for South Africa's energy crisis, comparing them to existing open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

• The Turkish company Karadeniz Holdings' Karpowership unit proposed power ships to Eskom, the Department of Energy (DoE), and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) as an alternative to Eskom's open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs). Unlike OCGTs that use expensive diesel, these power ships use heavy oil fuel, with plans to transition to natural gas. The ships are offered under 2 to 5 year rental contracts, where the provider handles operation and maintenance, and utilize a 'floating battery' storage ship to maintain power.
• There is a disagreement between Eskom and industry experts regarding the utility of a 310MW power ship. Eskom's Head of Integrated Demand Management, Mr Etzinger, argued the capacity is too small to feed into the national grid. Conversely, Mr Day of the South African National Energy Association (Sanea) contends that 310MW is equivalent to one unit of a 600MW power station and is more cost-effective, costing R2.00 to R2.50/kWh compared to OCGTs which cost R3.00 to R4.50/kWh.
• While power ships are faster to deploy than OCGTs—with Karadeniz Holdings claiming readiness within 60-180 days—they remain more expensive than Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Projected 2030 levellised costs for solar photovoltaic power (R0.54/kWh to R0.78kWh) and wind (R0.60/kWh) are significantly lower than the costs associated with power ships.
• Ghana has already acted on this technology by requesting two power ships from Karadeniz Holdings’ Karpowership unit, which were scheduled to arrive in August and become operational by September 2015.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2015). Power ships as a short-term solution to mitigating South Africa's energy crisis. https://saiia.org.za/research/power-ships-as-a-short-term-solution-to-mitigating-south-africas-energy-crisis/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Power ships as a short-term solution to mitigating South Africa's energy crisis. 2015. https://saiia.org.za/research/power-ships-as-a-short-term-solution-to-mitigating-south-africas-energy-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Power ships as a short-term solution to mitigating South Africa's energy crisis |date=11 August 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/power-ships-as-a-short-term-solution-to-mitigating-south-africas-energy-crisis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2015power, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Power ships as a short-term solution to mitigating South Africa's energy crisis}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/power-ships-as-a-short-term-solution-to-mitigating-south-africas-energy-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }