Residents of Walvis Bay were astonished this week to see how two men defied the height of the three tall light posts in front of the civic center with their abseiling gear. Informanté took a closer look and found Alexander Melani and Sergio Visagie abseiling the posts to scrape off old paint and provide the posts with a new layer of paint on tender for Erongo RED.

The posts are very cleverly designed and have an elbow which allows for the top section to fold to the ground so that technicians can replace the light fittings when necessary. However, to clean and repaint the posts needs either scaffolding or lifting cages. Thanks to the sport of abseiling, rope-climbers are now used to abseil the posts, clean and paint it. Not only does it save time, but rope access also allows workers to reach places inaccessible for conventional lifting equipment and it has proven to save costs. Melani and Visagie said they work for the local company Rope Access Namibia and enjoy their work “between heaven and earth”.
Using abseiling as a means to reach high places for repairs and maintenance is a discipline introduced to Namibia around 2007 when the oil rig “Sedneth 701” was repaired alongside in Walvis Bay. Rope climbers were used to abseil the giant pontoons to clean and supply it with a new coat of anti-corrosion paint and to fit piping to the rig’s platforms. Many companies have since opted for rope access as a cost-effective means of replacing the use of scaffolding, mechanical lifters or even ladders.