Greeted by a flotilla of yachts and showered by sea spray by two tugboats, the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s MSC Sola docked in Durban’s harbour yesterday. She made news headlines as the largest container ship to ever visit a South African port with a gross tonnage of 131 771 tons and carrying capacity of up to 11 660 containers. Prior to Transnet’s 2010 project to widen and deepen the entrance to the Durban harbour, the vessel would have been unable to enter.

The depth of the water at the Durban Container Terminal is still a problem, but Karl Socikwa, Transnet Port Terminals chief executive was reported as saying that the depth issue would be remedied, “We are optimistic that our planned investments into port infrastructure over the next few years will offer mega-ships like these the prospect of making more regular calls to South Africa.”

Of course there’s been much in the media over the last few months about Transnet’s investment strategy and it would seem that Transnet are stepping up and putting their money where their mouth is.

Plettenberg Bay was in the news this week. After awarding a tender for the development of a small boat harbour in the Pisang River and the building of multi-storey buildings on the foreshore of the coastal town of Plettenberg Bay 10 years ago, the first round of environmental impact assessments have begun and residents are up in arms.

Robbie Robinson, a retired SA National Parks CEO and local resident says that he feels that the area will lose it’s aesthetic value if the the development goes ahead.

As the planned development has taken 10 years to get this far, it would seem that local residents have a long wait and plenty of time to argue until anything concrete actually takes place.

Giving the maritime industry some favourable headlines this week, the polar supply and research ship the SA Agulhas has been relaunched as a dedicated training ship by the South African Maritime Safety Authority. SABC’s morning live team got there early and spent the morning interviewing cadets, ministers and SAMSA members before watching the vessel leave the port.

The ceremony to mark it’s departure took place on Thurday morning and coincided with an impressive SAMSA-led conference being held in Cape Town this week.

The ship will sail along the East coast with 33 cadets and three training officers on board and will return to Cape Town on August 6.

The ship is replaced by the SA Agulhas II, but what a fantastic way to create a buzz and enthusiasm around maritime training in both the youth and the industry which these cadets will hopefully one day be part of. Congratulations SAMSA.

The Seli 1 is back in the news this week. After lying just off Blouberg for nearly three years, while authorities try to determine who should foot the bill for its removal, it has now been determined that the wreck is eroding the beach and threatening council infrastructure. The wreck, abandoned by its owners shortly after running aground in September 2009, has already cost the public about R24 million and now the hidden costs are starting to mount.

According to reports, all the authorities involved agree that the wreck must be removed, but no one has been able to come up with the money as yet.

The city council met with the Department of Transport, as well as other government departments, two months ago to decide the fate of the wreck. Councillor JP Smith, mayco member for safety and security, said that the meeting had been a positive one and that an application would be made to the treasury to supply the funding for its removal. Other bodies, such as Transnet, Environmental Affairs and the Ports Authority, would also be asked to contribute funding.

The city, who has also volunteered to contribute to the cause, is now awaiting feedback from the Department of Transport.

Clearly, this has been, and looks likely to continue to be, and extremely lengthy process.

Another vessel in distress in our waters …. the Cidade de Paraty also hit the headlines this week and has been given permission to be towed into False Bay after developing trouble with its generators about 45 miles offshore last week.

Dave Main of Smit Salvors was quoted in the media saying that it was unclear as to how long the repairs to the generator would take, but it would seem that it is once again SAMSA and Smit to the rescue.

In other news, a R108 million upgrade for 12 of our local harbours is on the cards, but first those responsible for the abandoned sunken vessels can expect legal action from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF).

The 12 harbours to be upgraded or rehabilitated are: Hout Bay, Kalk Bay, Gordon’s Bay, Gansbaai, Arniston, Stillbaai, Saldanha Bay, St Helena Bay, Laaiplek, Lamberts Bay, Yzerfontein and Hawston. ‘The construction periods for these contracts range from six months to three years,’ said public works spokesman Thami Mchunu to the media.

Other DAFF news making the papers relates to the decision to hire diving companies to recover about 31.5 tons of perlemoen a year in order to conduct a three year research programme. The research is aimed at gathering information on the distribution and size of stocks, as well as the possibility of viable future perlemoen harvests.

They had better act quickly as there will soon be nothing left to research – thanks to our ever busy poachers.

The press kept a pulse on the fate of the dead ship Panos Earth and reported on the decision to sell it by public auction.  The auction was ordered by the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday and a provisional sale date of June 20 has been set.

After a meeting on May 2, SAMSA came to the conclusion that the owner had ‘completely abdicated its responsibilty for the vessel and crew.’  Money apparently ran out weeks ago with the result that the repair costs of approximately $1.8 million were not able to be met.  Other creditors include Smit Amandla Marine and Smit Marine South Africa who are owed an estimated $3 million for services rendered to the vessel.

The remaining five crew members have also received no pay and have been living in appalling conditions while awaiting the fate of their ship.  Court papers revealed that there was no proper sanitation on board, as well as no electricity in the crew’s cabins and very limited food and water.

The money from the sale will be put into a fund and the funds will be allocated to creditors by a court allocated advocate.  Alan Gold, the maritime lawyer acting for the crew has said that he will put in a claim for their outstanding wages.

It would appear that a difficult  and costly situation has been dealt with in a swift and professional manner and that all parties will eventually get what they deserve.  Congratulations to all those involved.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries just cannot make any good news headlines. News that DAFF has yet to sign or renew a contract for onboard observers for the hake trawling industry means that the sector is at risk of loosing its Marine Stewardship Council certification.

The press picked up on the fact that the contract expired at the end of 2011 and that no new contract has been awarded.

The absence of these observers could result in the loss of Marine Stewardship Council certification, which in turn could result in the loss of up to 5000 jobs in the hake fishing industry, as well as lucrative international markets – about R5 billion in economic value, generated through exports.

And, to make matters worse, the anchovy fisheries also appear to be in trouble.  Their scientific survey, due to have taken place in May, has not happened.  This survey is essential.  If the quotas are not set correctly, they will be set at very conservative levels.  Experts fear that this could cost the anchovy industry up to R200 million.

What is happening here?  Where is our minister?  Is there no one willing to step up and accept responsibility for this impending economic disaster and come up with a solution, albeit a temporary one?

Anyone remember the Panos Earth?  It would seem that the ‘marooned’ ship Panos Earth, now under arrest by the sheriff of Simon’s Town court, was mostly forgotten by the press last week, but the ship’s plight was very much on the minds of the crew members still stuck onboard.

Eleven of the remaining crew left the ship on Saturday and flew home to South America on Sunday.  As they were ferried from the ship to the Simon’s Town harbour, they held a makeshift sign saying “Thank you South Africa and Smit Company.’  For some it was the first time that they had set foot on dry land in over four months.

Five crew members as well as a Smit Amandla Marine crew remain onboard.
According to reports, the ship has broken generators caused by taking on dirty fuel.  The repair costs are estimated at R4.2 million.  There is no money.  Smit spokeswoman, Clare Gomes has been quoted in the media saying that they are hoping for a judicial sale within the next few weeks.

Perhaps it was the Panos Earth that prompted the media to take a look at the wreck still sitting in Table Bay and report on the fact that she is likely to see another winter through in her current position.

It’s a position that South Africa needs to address as we head once again towards salvage season and a seemingly increasing number of vessels sail without sufficient insurance to meet salvage costs should the situation arise.

In January, due to safety concerns, Home Affairs banned cruise liners from docking at Jetty Two of the V&A Waterfront.

Making headlines this week was news of plans to develop a proper cruise terminal. Now, after two years of lobbying, plans are finally underway for a cruise liner terminal at Table Bay Harbour.  Transnet has called for submissions of interest in the funding, construction and operation of such a terminal.

According to Guy Lundy, head of the business think tank Accelerate Cape Town, at present Cape Town does not even feature on the plans of international cruise liners, but the building of such a facility would go a long way to attracting operators to the shores of South Africa and particularly Cape Town.

Obviously, this is only the first step in a very long process, but if it comes to fruition it will open the doors of a large tourism trade which can only benefit the maritime industry, as well as Cape Town as a whole.

Also mentioned in the news this week was the arrival of the French helicopter carrier, Dixmude and the frigate Georges Leygues. The ships took part in exercises with the South African Navy and were a very impressive sight both arriving and leaving Cape Town harbour.

It is nice to see Cape Town harbour so busy.  A new terminal would certainly not go amiss, so let us hope that the process runs more smoothly than some of the other “opportunities” provided by Transnet in the past.

The media scrutiny associated with patrol and research vessels continues and this week the SA Deep Sea Trawling Industry Association is in trouble with Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson (who isn’t), who has accused the association of ‘fronting’ for Smit Amandla Marine by allowing the company to carry out research on the SAS Africana last month.  Secretary of the association, Roy Bross responded by saying that Smit had been asked to provide staff purely to ensure that the research could take place on time.  ‘We only wanted to help.’

The minister was back in the news later in the week with a little drama at the Cape Town Press Club.  Over the years, many politicians have addressed the Cape Town Press Club, including Jacob Zuma, Helen Zille, Tokyo Sexwale and many others.  In that time no politician has ever taken issue with the club’s membership – until now.  Minister Joemat-Pettersson protested speaking at a press club breakfast because of the presence of DA MP Pieter van Dalen, saying that if one political party was represented then others should be too. (Was that really the reason for her objection?)

Her sentiments were backed by ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu, who said that the ANC was disturbed by the fact that a public representative of a political party was a member of the club.

The club responded by saying that it was the oldest and most active press club in South Africa and was committed to a democratic South Africa where ‘equality and free speech is respected, protected and defended.’

Me thinks she does protest too much …… again.

And now, False Bay, we have a problem.  A Chilean-owned cargo ship which experienced engine failure off our coast and was too big to berth in Cape Town harbour was given permission by SAMSA to anchor in False Bay while she was repaired. She’s now making newspaper headlines as journalists pick up on the plight of the crew.

One of SAMSA’s conditions was that a tug be on permanent standby as a precaution while the vessel was in the environmentally sensitive bay as the owners believe there is a ‘real chance of environmental damage.’  Unfortunately, the tug is there at a cost of about R235 800 per day; the bills are mounting and the creditors are lining up.  The insurers, Swedish Club have said that they will pull their cover for wreck removal and oil pollution by month end, and the owners have no money.  So who is now responsible?

It looks as if we are heading the way of the Seli 1 incident, where everyone just walked away and South Africans were left to foot the bill for the ships removal.  Also let us not forget the poor crew stranded on the ‘dead vessel’:  little food, little water and I’m sure very little morale.

Finally, the results are in:  The Oliver Empowerment Awards winners have been announced, recognising 16 local companies and individuals for their efforts towards Black Economic Empowerment and tranformation.

Congraulations to SAMSA and Dormac for their accomplishments.  You make the industry proud.

The local media has been swept up in a wave of maritime fervour as more than one journalist seems to have expressed a deeply personal appreciation of the new SA Agulhas 2. A proud moment for all South Africans as the SA Agulhas arrived at the Table Bay harbour from the shipyards of Finland yesterday amid much fanfare.  But no traditional ceremony for this beautiful ship dedicated to the late Miriam Makeba; instead a truly African ‘christening’.  Minister of Environmental Affiairs, Edna Molewa ran the length of the ship with a small grass ‘broom’ sprinkling the ship with ubulawu or ‘dream foam’ as a sangoma shouted and sang nearby.  Not a sight you see everyday, but this is no everyday ship.

The Smit Amandla captain, Freddie Ligthelm, described the ship as a beefed-up version of the old Agulhas:  bigger, wider and stronger.  May she travel safe and make us proud.

On the perlemoen front, Doug Butterworth, the UCT mathematician responsible for the calculations of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, has been quoted in the media pointing out that  within 10 years there will be so few perlemoen left that poachers will basically be out of business.

At present, the total allowable catch is 150 tons and poachers are removing an estimated 1500 tons.  One does not have to be a mathematician to see that this equation is disastrous.

Earlier this week the city council announced that it would be moving into marine law enforcement in an attempt to combat the rapidly increasing perlemoen poaching around the peninsula.  A unit is to be established, tentatively named the Coastal and Marine Law Enforcement Unit which will work the length of the city’s 300km coastline.

Staff training is already underway and the city has put out a (dare I say the word) tender for an inshore patrol boat.  Let us hope we can all work together to try to put a stop to the poaching problem and protect our marine resources for future generations.

Despite the doom and gloom, some good news as the seven individuals who pleaded guilty to their roles in a perlemoen ring last week have been put behind bars.  The accused were sentenced to between four and 10 years.  Now that is a start.

Finally, there was much excitement at the naval dockyard in Simon’s Town last week as 33 year-old Handsome Thamsanqua Matsane became one of the youngest submariner commanders, officially taking charge of the SAS Queen Modjadji and saying that he had always wanted to work at sea.

Navy spokesman, Prince Tshabalala said that Matsane ‘is an inspiration to other young South Africans who want to join the navy.’  Congratulatiuons to Mr Matsane, let us hope that there will actually be something for him to do.