The hate-hate relationship between Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and DA fisheries spokesman Pieter van Dalen has once again be covered in the press this week; with the names of Duncan Hindle, the Minister’s special adviser and Shaheen Moolla of Feike also being thrown into the mix.

All the name calling and petty arguing has somewhat detracted from the fact that the long awaited public protector’s report on the marine patrol tender has been delayed. This is apparently due to the fact that the inquiry has been extended.

Although the delay is disappointing, as it is important to get answers and some kind of closure to the issues, it is also well worth waiting for the results of the enquiry so that all discussion and debate can at least be FACT BASED and not just finger pointing and name calling like badly behaved childern on a playground.

After a long and extremely respectable silence, Smit Amandla Marine has chosen this week to speak. In a statement Smit, widely regarded as the ‘whistle-blower’, has been subjected to months of ‘slanderous unsubstantiated claims about our integrity and business practices.’

Smit has now gone on record stating that they are not a fishing company and nor are they being investigated by the Hawks or any other state authority regarding their management of the Fisheries Department’s research and patrol vessels.

They have gone even further by offering their full co-operation and assistance with any investigation into their business operations – past or present.

This magazine is in the process of organising an actual face-to-face debate between Minister Tina Joemat Pettersson and Pieter van Dalen which will allow the two the opportunity to answer the really important questions in a controlled environment and hopefully get some real answers.

After many years of legal wrangling, the name Arnold Bengis is back in the news this week. After being accused of poaching large quantities of SA rock lobster and Patagonia toothfish, importing them illegally into the US and then selling them at a huge profit, a US judge has ordered Bengis and his son, who was also involved, to pay a record $54.9 million (R450m) in restitution to South Africa.

Marius Diemont, legal representative for SA, said this is ‘ a significant precedent that shows that authorities will go to great lengths to bring people who deal in illegal fish to justice.’

The case against Hout Bay Fishing, headed by Bengis, which started in 2001, is still to be finalised.

Am I the only one experiencing a strange sense of deja vu as the Eihatsu Maru becomes the latest ship to be abandoned by its owners and financiers after experiencing trouble in our waters and may have to be sold in order to recoup the costs of its salvage operation – an estimated R7 million at this point (excluding harbour fees).

Dave Colly of SAMSA is obviously very unhappy about the situation as not only is there the problem of disposing of the ship if the owners are not forthcoming with any money, but also its’ cargo – 70 tons of frozen tuna. It would appear that South Africa is going to take a hit financially with the selling of the fish which, according to press reports, is regarded as ‘too tainted by scandal’ for the Japanese market.

Why are the owners of these ships allowed to get away with washing their hands of the responsibility of their vessels at the first sign of trouble or, more accurately, expense? And what can South Africa do to protect itself from continually being forced to bail out these vessels in distress?

Newspaper articles report that the Panos Earth (another vessel abandoned in our waters) has now been sold at judicial auction to a Chinese company for $2.17 million (about R22.3m), unfortunately well below what it is actually worth. Ed Greiner, the maritime lawyer who acted for salvors Smit Amandla Marine and Smit Marine SA, was quoted in the press as saying of the creditors that ‘certain people will be paid in full, certain people will be paid pro rata and certain people will not be paid at all.’ Too bad if you are in the latter catagory.

In other news, it would seem that the powers that be have finally woken up and are on track to reintroduce the lapsed system of having independent observers on board fishing vessels in an attempt to ensure that South Africa does not lose its certification with the Marine Stewardship Council, as well as its’ lucrative overseas markets.

Johan Augustyn of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) stated that ‘it was never a policy decision not to have the observer programme, it was simply a result of financial and bureaucratic problems’ and that the observer programme would hopefully be reintroduced within the year.

Surely DAFF can see that it is time to step up and get this done, and the sooner the better? South Africa’s place – and name – in the market is at stake.

A 1950’s tug boat left to rot in the harbour at the V&A Waterfront has been given a second lease on life in the unlikely form of a group of farmers from a Tractor and Engine club in Villiersdorp.

If you missed the report in the Cape Times, it seems that Keith Wetmore and his friend Andy Selfe approached the club about the possibility of saving the tug’s engines, but the club decided it would prefer to save the entire boat.

The tug, the Alwyn Vintcent, will undertake a rather long and strange journey, via Hopefield, Malmesbury, Tulbach and Worcester, to Villiersdorp and ultimately the Theewaterskloof Dam, where it is hoped that it will eventually be made into a tourist attraction.

The tug, one of the last coal-fired steam vessels, was built in Venice in 1958 and worked in Mossel Bay from 1959 – 1983. Messages from heritage enthusiasts around the world have started to pour in.

Good luck to this group of farmers from Villiersdorp and the next time you are in the area, why not pop by and spend a little time with the Alwyn Vintcent.

But perhaps, the most uplifting news from last week was the release of the South African couple who spent 20 months in the captivity of Somali pirates. Latest reports suggest that the couple, Bruno Pelizzari and Deborah Calitz, will be home in just a few short days.

Media attention this week turned to Clifton where the 50m, Eihatse Maru ran aground with 40 tons of frozen tuna and between 90 and 110 tons of fuel onboard.

By this morning, due to various difficulties, from the inability to attach properly to tow ropes breaking (twice) to no swell, the vessel was still firmly nestled at First beach.  Fifty tons of fuel has been removed from the vessel as a precaution and Dave Colly of SAMSA  says that ‘they are restructuring the back to make it strong enough to pull’ and some rough weather is heading our way which will help to lift the vessel.  Atlatech and Smit Amandla are assisting.

The vessel ran aground in darkness and thick fog early on Saturday morning.  Media reports relate how a witness tried to raise the alarm by contacting the port authority, but was instructed to contact the police. Perhaps better staff training at the port authority could have prevented this maritime mishap or at least allowed the salvage operation to get underway quickly and efficiently? Food for thought.

At this point the stern of the vessel has been strengthened and the plan is to tow her out to sea today.  Let us hope that the third time is the charm. (The vessel was removed successfully late Friday afternoon)

PS.  The captain’s dog Alley/Ali is still onboard and doing well.

Thankfully the press also picked up on some good news from the maritime industry and devoted a few inches of space to the commendable achievements of Lawhill Maritime Centre. A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to the Lawhill Maritime Studies programme in Simon’s Town, headed by Brian Ingpen.  The programme has been awarded the international Seatrade Investment in People award.

Brian, who has long been a shining light in maritime education, accepted the award in London on Monday.  It was awarded in recognition of the programme which helps provide young people with maritime-related skills while they are still at school.

Congratulations Brian and Lawhill!  Lovely to see all your hard work recognised and rewarded.

The tender war seems to have taken on a whole new dimension according to the latest newspaper reports. As if life on a marine research ship is not exciting enough, now that the navy has taken over the running of the fisheries vessels belonging to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the fisheries scientists will  go to sea on a warship.  They will be setting off on Monday.  Department spokesperson, Selby Bokaba said that the ship would be staffed by ‘the crew, navy as well as research personnel.’

At this point the department’s research ships are still registered as merchant vessels and, according to international law, are not allowed to be run by the military until they have been removed  from the merchant vessel register.  As of Wednesday afternoon none of the six department vessels had been removed.

Dave Colly of SAMSA said that he had written to the department two weeks ago regarding the matter, but had still received no response.  What can be taking so long?

In other reports, it would seem that maritime protected areas (MPA’s) are the new playground of the abalone poacher.  A Llandudno resident reported a poaching incident in a local marine sanctuary last week and a study carried out by Gregg Brill of Stellenbosch University revealed how a group of poachers have been stealing approximately 27 tons of abalone a year from the marine section of Table Mountain National Park.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  His study also revealed that the number of abalone actually confiscated represented as little as 10 percent of all abalone poached.  It would appear that abalone poachers are getting away with murder and why are these ‘protected areas’ not being protected – oh wait perhaps it’s because our vessel assets are currently just decorating the Simons Town harbour!

By all means save our rhino, but let’s try to save our abalone too.

With the amount of maritime-related stories making the news this past week, it may well be that mass media has finally noticed that we are a maritime nation. Sad, however, is that fact that most of the headlines relate to negative associations.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tina Joemat-Pettersson has once again rocked the fishing boat.  Information was leaked from a closed meeting between the minister and fisheries division staff where she allegedly said that she would take away the fishing rights of SA’s ‘Big Five’ fishing firms when they come up for review next year.  She allegedly stated that ‘white’ fishing companies needed to cede these rights to community fishermen.

These statements did nothing to please Chief executive of Feike, Shaheen Moolla, who points out that  the the big fishing companies are all black empowered, with at least 30 percent black ownership.

The interesting part of this story, however,  is that the minister apparently asked people in the meeting not to take notes or record her remarks.  Now why would she do that?

The navy also grabbed some column space this week as they hosted the Indian Oceans Naval Symposium. And the long finger of the media was not shy to point out some of their shortcomings.

At an operational cost of about R30 million per year, the submarine SAS Manthatisi has spent 18 months in service and an impressive 41 months out of service.  After questioning by IFP MP Albert Mncwango, Defense Minister Lindiwe Sisulu revealed that the vessel would be remaining on dry land for several  more months as it is awaiting a new battery to be delivered ‘later this year.’

The sub is apparently being used as a training and planning vessel in the mean time.  This seems like an extremely expensive training exercise.

Tomorrow (14 April 2012) marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and her fateful final voyage has been on the minds of many maritime buffs this month.  It would seem that everyone has a theory as to what caused the terrible accident so many years ago, but is it not time to let her rest in peace. Even as the movie Titanic is being released in 3-D it seems that this poor ship will continue to generate interest well beyond this 100-year milestone.