Author Archives: Natalie Janse

Weekly Press Review – 6 May 2016

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The Cape Town Port Festival took place at the Cape Town harbour last weekend, hosted by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).

According to the press hundreds of locals flocked to the free event, which boasted craft stands, food stalls and performances by top DJs as well as South African favourites Freshly Ground.

The festival aimed to popularise and reintegrate South African ports with their surrounding communities.

TNPA Chief Executive Richard Vallihu said, “These port festivities offer a platform and a workable solution to make our ports community-friendly and to expose the public to the opportunities available in this sector, but in a fun and innovative way.”

“We want the communities around our ports to feel a sense of belonging and ownership. To us, progressive and sustainable ports are those that co-exist and evolve with communities where the commercial ports are,” said TNPA Cape Town port manager, Sipho Nzuza.

Weekly Press Review – 29 April 2016

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As we face the reality of ever declining numbers within the African penguin population, this week South Africa joined the world in celebrating World Penguin Day.

According to the press the number of African penguins has dropped from over 1 million pairs in the 1920s to a current population of just under 20,000 breeding pairs.

There are still many obstacles to the growth of African penguin populations. These include: pollution, habitat degradation, food shortages, climate change, human disturbance and predators. The African penguin is listed as ENDANGERED.

In response to the endangered status in 2013 the Department of Environmental Affairs and a group of experts from various organisations formed the first national Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) for the African penguin.  Actions within this plan are carried out by two different working groups:  the Population Reinforcement working group and the Habitat working group and the groups are made up of representatives from various organisations, including:  Cape Nature, BirdLife SA, and SAN parks, to name a few.

 

Weekly press review – 15 April 2016

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The local Shark Spotter project has made headlines this week by winning the Gold Innovation Award in the Best Beach Tourism category at the African Responsible Tourism Awards 2016.

The judges stated that Shark Spotters won as it combined enhancing safety and education on beaches.

Project manager, Sarah Waries, said, “Working together with the City, we have created a holistic, socially and environmentally responsible initiative that protects beach tourism, the local economy and the environment from the negative repercussions of shark bite incidents.”

“We are very pleased that they (Shark Spotters) have been acknowledged for their valuable and innovative efforts in responsible beach tourism, including the implementation of the shark exclusion net, which benefits our beachgoers,” said Mayco member for energy, environment and spatial planning Johan van der Merwe.

Weekly Press Review – 8 April 2016

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The maritime industry celebrated excellence this week with the South African Maritime Industry Awards hosted by Maritime Review Africa. Making headlines this week was the win for Brian Ingpen who won in the Maritime Maestro category.

The category recognises individuals within the maritime industry acting as ambassadors to promote development of the industry in a manner above and beyond their job description. 

 Lawhill Maritime Centre head Debbie Owen said, “Ingpen has, through his selfless dedication and remarkable vision, helped to establish the Lawhill Maritime Centre as a role model for schools-based maritime education in South Africa and the world.”

In response to his win Ingpen said, “ I am grateful for the award and this is a team effort from a number of people. It’s been an honour to be involved in something that is working very well.” 

 A find of R1.2 million worth of abalone on an Intercape bus also made headlines this week. Officers, acting on a tip-off searched the bus and found approximately 600kg of abalone hidden in boxes.

JP Smith, mayco member for Safety and Security said, “We hope the Hawks and SAPS urgently investigate the bus company.”

Intercape has issued a statement saying that management had been made aware of the incident.

Weekly Press Review – 1 April 2016

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An amendment to the Marine Living Resources Act now allows small-scale fishers to form co-operatives.  According to the press a group of approximately 100 fishers gathered in Langa this week to register a co-operative.

The hope is that this system will allow fishing communities to benefit with the formation of co-operatives.

However, the general feeling amongst local fishers is that there is little hope of this new system actually working. “You cannot grant a permit to someone who lives in Johannesburg because he is a commercial fisher instead of a traditional fisher like me.  You are inviting poaching.

“How do I live without fishing as it is the only trade I have known my whole life.  I will go to the sea at night and steal,” said 67-year old traditional fisher Bhekumzi Mhlongo.

According to Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) small-scale fisheries management director, Craig Smith, Langa was the first of 280 communities in the country to register for co-operatives.

After registration it will be determined how many of these fishers meet the selection criteria.  They will then be assisted by DAFF to apply for small-scale fishing rights in November.

“We want one small-scale fishing co-operative per community,” said Smith adding that DAFF hoped to create a fundamental shift in its approach to the small-scale fishing sector.

The Two Oceans Aquarium has asked people to be on the look out for baby loggerhead turtles washing up on local beaches.  According to the press between April and June each year juvenile loggerhead turtles wash up along the Western Cape coast, particularly at Struisbaai and Yzerfontein.

Last year the aquarium rescued and rehabilitated a record 200 turtles and they are hoping to achieve the same success rate this year.  They have asked beachgoers to please not return the young turtles to the water, but rather to pick them up and deliver them to the Two Ocean Aquarium or any other local animal rehabilitation centre.

They do not need to be kept wet as they are often suffering from hypothermia.  Aquarium spokesperson, Renee Leeuwner, asks that people keep the young turtles warm and dry and deliver them in a container with ample air holes.  It is also important to note where exactly the turtle was found.

These young turtles can take over a year to rehabilitate

 

 

 

Weekly Press Review – 18 March 2016

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Indonesian authorities have made headlines this week with the bombing of a Nigerian-flagged vessel wanted internationally after years of illegal toothfish poaching.

According to the press the vessel was seized by the Indonesian Navy in late February. Yesterday the vessel was bombed in an attempt to send a strong message to would-be poachers entering Indonesian waters.

The Viking was one of six vessels, named the Bandit 6, known to be illegally catching toothfish in the Southern Ocean. The vessel, along with five others, was closely followed by NGO the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society who alerted authorities when the Viking entered Indonesian waters.

Fisheries minister Susi Pudjiastuti said, “This is to serve as a deterrent to others. You may go freely in the rest of the world, but once entering Indonesian waters this is the consequence.”

The Two Oceans Aquarium and the seals of Cape Town have a new hero. According to the press, Two Oceans Aquarium specialist technician, Vince Calder, takes to the waters of the Cape Town harbour at 7am each morning to check on the safety of seals in the harbour area. His check includes making sure that none of the seals have been caught in fishing lines or plastic bags.

Over a two-year period, Calder has come to the aid of over 20 seals. “Each day that I don’t discover a seal in distress due to fishing line or plastic is a good day,” says Calvin.

Calvin says that we can all make a difference by starting with one small act in our homes. Before you throw away any plastic bags, simply cut the handles of the plastic bag to make sure that it does not get caught around the head of an unsuspecting seal. “Cut a loop, save a life” is the aquariums motto and one we can all easily adopt as our own.

Weekly Press Review – 11 March 2016

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According to the press, ship repair facilities have been earmarked as important areas for growth within the Operation Phakisa framework.

According to Sipho Nzuza, TNPA harbour manager Cape Town, Cape Town harbour is regarded as an important area for the application of Operation Phakisa initiatives. This includes ship repair work, shipbuilding and oil and gas services. Areas receiving immediate focus are the Syncrolift at the V&A Waterfront and both the Sturrock and Robinson Drydocks.

At the recently held African Ports Evolution conference in Durban, TNPA announced that R2 billion would be allocated towards improvements in ship repair facilities over the next five year period and an estimated R13 -15 billion towards new repair facilities at harbours across the country.

Weekly Press Review – 4 March 2016

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The big maritime news this week is the announcement of plans to create a new 70,000km2 network of marine protected areas.

According to the press the plans include:

  • expansion of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park’s sea boundaries in Kwazulu-Natal,
  • a new protected area off the Thukela River,
  • a new shark and fish sanctuary off the Protea Banks on the south coast and
  • expansion of the Aliwal Shoal protected area.

Details of the new marine protected areas (MPAs) have been published in a 336-page notice in the government gazette by Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa.

Although the declaration of these new expanded MPAs should be celebrated, it is important to note that they are in response to the present situation of collapsed sea fish stocks and increasing exploitation of oceans worldwide.

Conservation group WWF’s response to the announcement has been positive, but they have cautioned that it is essential to ensure that there is adequate budget, staff and enforcement capacity to ensure the proper running of these protected areas.

Zolile Nqayi, Environment Affairs spokesman, said that the new proposed MPAs had been identified through the presidential project Operation Phakisa.

Weekly Press Review – 26 February 2016

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This week marked the 99th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Mendi. According to the press over 200 people attended a service at the SA Mendi Memorial in Atteridgeville earlier this week to commemorate the event.

On 21 February 1917 the SS Mendi collided with another vessel, the SS Daro, and sank with 646 South African Labour Corps on board. Most of the victims were black South African troops. It was a major loss of life for the South African military, as well as one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century.

Also in the news this week is the announcement that Grindrod has pulled out of the planned multi-billion rand Saldanha crude oil terminal.

Grindrod chief executive Alan Olivier said, “ Clearly the market conditions, with the fall in commodity prices and curtailment of capital projects in the mining sector, has certainly put pressure on a lot of the projects we were looking at.

“But we always said we would not proceed with capital projects unless we had the underlying volume support to be able to justify these projects.”

The arrival of the French frigate Le Nivose has made headlines this week. The vessel will be at the V&A Waterfront until mid-March and is open to the public.

Le Nivose has been patrolling the French southern and Antarctic territories, combating piracy, illegal fishing and trafficking, with the aim of increasing maritime security in the area.

Weekly Press Review – 19 February 2016

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Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has made headlines this week with the announcement of the introduction of a R800 million state-of-the-art system aimed at boosting security at South African ports.

“The National Ports Act 12 of 2005, and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code of 2004 dictate that we, as a port authority, implement measures to assist in detecting security threats and take preventative measures against security incidents that may affect ships or port facilities used in international trade,” said Richard Vallihu, chief executive at TNPA.

The new control room, based at the port of Durban, was activated last week. The CCTV system gives a bird’s-eye view of the port security system and is integrated between all port sites.

“CCTV is but one aspect of our broader integrated technological security system, which encompasses technology, skills and systems,” said Vallihu.

TNPA said that the hi-tech security system would add to the position of South African ports becoming “smart people ports”.

The story of a rescued blind penguin has also made headlines this week. A four-month old penguin was discovered on a beach in Glentana and taken to a local vet, Dr Frans de Graaf, in Hartenbos, where it was discovered that he had been born without eyes.

The frightened bird was taken to the Penguin Rehabilitation Centre (SAPREC) in Mossel Bay where he was closely monitored by Dr de Graaf. He is slowly responding to his new environment and already recognises voices and joins in the swimming time in the pool.

According to Carol Walton, founder of SAPREC, it would appear that the penguin’s parents cared for him for a period of about three months, but after that he was left to his own devices. How he managed to stay alive is a mystery.

The little blind penguin will remain a permanent resident at SAPREC. He will not be able to return to the wild. He has been christened Stevie Wonder.