Category Archives: Weekly Press Review

Weekly Press Review – 16 August 2013

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The Fisheries Department is back in the hot seat this week (again) with officials again being criticised for still not getting the country’s research and patrol vessels back in the water.

Acting Fisheries Department deputy director-general, Desmond Stevens had the rather unenviable task of updating parliament on the status of the vessels and assured those present that both the Ruth First and Victoria Mxenge were ready for action and merely waiting seaworthy certificates from the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and that the Lilian Ngoyi would be ready to sail by the end of September. Various MPs stated that they would be waiting on the dock at Simon’s Town to board the vessel on the promised date.

Let us hope that the Fisheries Department can deliver this time. It would seem that the pressure is finally on.

The stranded Kiani Satu has remained in the press all week as all attempts to refloat the vessel, still stranded off the coast of Buffels Bay, have thus far failed. According to Captain Nigel Campbell, responsible for overseeing the salvage operation for SAMSA, it is the strong swell due to harsh weather conditions that is hampering the refloating process.

Obviously the oil that is still leaking from the damaged vessel remains a cause for concern and Parliament’s portfolio committee has called for harsher penalties to be imposed on those responsible for the pollution of local waters in an attempt to protect fish and marine life resources.

This is something that could really go a long way towards protecting our coastline. Let us hope that the powers that be are able to come up with a plan that can be implemented fairly and quickly.

There was also some maritime drama off the coast of Robben Island this week, as the crew of the fishing trawler Claremont, had to be rescued after the vessel crashed into the rocks along the island’s coastline.

The rescue operation was carried out over four hours by the NSRI and all 12 crew members were safely brought back to shore. Another successful NSRI operation.

It seems that the salvage season has started in Cape Town.

Weekly Press Review – 8 August 2013

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The major news within the maritime industry this week is the announcement by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) that they would release the names of the companies that have tendered for the management of South Africa’s marine and research fleet: three fisheries research vessels and four patrol vessels.

This is a situation that has been dogged with controversy and it would be nice to see some real progress made towards getting the fleet up and running and keeping it up and running.

On a lighter note, a devoted husband and dog owner made the news this week after rescuing both his wife and his Jack Russel after their yacht ran aground off Cebe on the Eastern Cape coast.

After hitting rough weather, the couple and their dog, Rosie, were forced to abandon ship. Graham Anley first swam Rosie ashore and then returned to assist his wife, whose safety gear had become snagged. All three are fully recovered and back home.

Weekly Press Review – 2 August 2013

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Last week Brian Ingpen and nine students from Lawhill Maritime Centre boarded the SA Agulhas in Simon’s Town for a navigation training voyage from Simon’s Town to Cape Town. He shared this experience in his column in the Cape Times this week.

Lawhill students do many navigation exercises, but this outing on the SA Agulhas allowed them to see the markers that they have come to recognise in theory with their own eyes. One of the tasks that they were required to perform whilst on the vessel was an accurate bearing on Slanghoek Lighthouse from the bridgewing. Completing the task on a moving ship proved a little more difficult than expected, but the students completed the task and at the same time got a chance to take in the beautiful scenery along the False Bay coastline.

It is wonderful to reading a story of an old ship making an impact on the lives of a young students and giving them the chance to experience life at sea – even if it is only for a few hours. Perhaps some of these students will go on to create more positive news headlines for the industry in their future.

Weekly Press Review – 26 July 2013

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The fishing rights allocation process has made the news again this week. Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson published the 2013 policy for the allocation of fishing rights for eight fisheries, but according to industry consultant, Shaheen Moolla, the policy contravenes the Marine Living Resources Act (MLRA).

The latest controversy centres around co-operatives. According to the MLRA, co-operatives are not allowed to hold fishing rights. However, the newly gazetted policy has allowed co-operatives to hold fishing quotas in each sector.

Moolla has stated that no new policy or legislation may contradict an act of Parliament and believes that the policy violates the section of the constitution which states that only cabinet can approve policy.

The process has been dogged by controversy and the Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) seems to be setting themselves up for a lengthy period of appeals – as they are laying a solid foundation from which unhappy rights holders can litigate.

Weekly Press Review – 19 July 2013

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An interesting application of the Marine Living Resources Act  made the news this week. A Paarl man has been arrested for salting and preserving fish without a permit. According to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) all fish-processing establishments as defined in section 18(1) of the act needed permits.

“The Marine Living Resources Act does not prescribe the amount, it only states that the salting of fish is processing and one requires a permit therefore,” said Carol Moses, spokeswoman for the department’s fisheries branch. The concern is obviously that this could put small fish shops and informal sellers out of business.

The department has now begun the task of “systematically addressing outlets.” Surely this will be a time consuming process which can only add to the pressure on an already stretched department.

The disgraced captain of the Costa Concordia also made the news again. Francesco Schettino, is facing the music as he faces charges of abandoning ship and manslaughter after the sinking of the cruise liner in 2012.

He has asked for a plea bargain deal in which he would serve just over three years if he admits responsibility. According to the chief prosecutor, there is “no doubt” of Schettino’s guilt. All that must be decided is “how long a sentence he will get.”

Labelled as “Italy’s most hated man” by the Italian press, it would seem that the court of public opinion is not keen to show any leniency. It will, however, be the responsibility of the court to decide the fate of a man who obviously made a terrible mistake and then chose to put his own safety above the safety of the souls that he was directly responsible for.

Weekly Press Review – 12 July 2013

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Mentioned in the press this week was the announcement of INTERPOL’s Project Scale at a symposium held at the University of Cape Town (UCT) earlier in the week.

The announcement was made by Eve de Coning of INTERPOL and the project is designed to respond to the R230bn that is lost to illegal fishing each year and was established as a separate unit to fight fishing crime due to its dramatic impact on marine resources. These crimes are not just a local concern, but have become a transnational organised crime.

“We need to understand it in the context of a much larger chain of events,” de Coning said.

It is good to see some of the legal crime fighting organisations getting behind a problem that is not just South African, but a global phenomenon that needs to be addressed globally.

Press Wrap up – 28 June 2013

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With a few delays in getting our Weekly Press Review out over the last month, herewith please find a wrap up of the media coverage of the maritime industry during June (since our last post of 7 June 2013). 

During the week ending 14th June,  The African Marine Debris Summit wrapped up in Kirstenbosch, Cape Town and although it did not really feature much in the press, one can’t help but feel that it should have.

In her opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi said, “Marine debris is not just an unsightly issue having a negative impact on tourism and human health but it is also responsible for deaths of a myriad of the creatures that inhabit the marine environment.”

Waste finding its way into our oceans is an ever-growing concern. Hopefully summits like these will not only draw attention to the problem, but also provide some possible solutions.

During the following week, the big news making headlines was the final outcome of the case against Hout Bay fishing magnate, Arnold Bengis, his son David and their overseas partner, Jeffrey Noll. The case, which has taken many years to reach this final stage, was brought against the three men for illegally exporting large amounts of west coast rock lobster from South Africa to the United States.

The United States has ordered that they pay an amount of R294 million in restitution to South Africa.

Desmond Stevens, acting head of fisheries for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said, “It is a huge amount of money. South Africa’s biggest restitution in illegal fishing.” He hoped that the money would be put into the Marine Living Resources Fund to assist with the fight against poaching.

You may have seen the article written by Shaheen Moolla in our March/April issue which highlighted where he thought the money should go.

Although a slow process, it is good to see that those who try to steal and cheat and abuse our marine resources do eventually have to pay the price. And what a price.

Now we wait to see where that R294 million goes.

During the last week, the maritime industry celebrated International Day of the Seafarer. 

June 25 marked the International Day of the Seafarer. This year IMO, together with United Nations, celebrated the day with a campaign entitled: Faces of the Sea. The idea behind the campaign was to encourage both individuals and organisations to use social media as a means to highlight various activities at sea, through photographs and messages, and in this way acknowledge seafarers from around the world, celebrating them and thanking them for their efforts at sea.

In this way it was hoped that the sheer diversity and scale of products used in our everyday lives that travel by sea would be highlighted and that the 1.5 million seafarers that make this possible would be recognised for their tremendous efforts.

A clever use of the world of social media to support a group of men and women who often go unrecognised despite their valuable contribution, often made in less than ideal conditions.

Die Burger picked up on the initiative a ran a great story on some of South Africa’s seafarers. 

 

 

Weekly Press Review – 7 June 2013

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In the news this week a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC). The memorandum opens collaboration between the two port authorities in infrastructure development, engineering, training and marine services and allows for sharing of expertise with the idea of paving the way for South African companies to use the port of Maputo as an extension of the Transnet network.

Casualty news is that another stricken vessel is heading to our shores this week. The Tristan da Cuhna supply ship, the Edinburgh, developed difficulties last week about 1000 nautical miles west of Cape Town and is being escorted back to Cape Town by the Smit Amandla salvage tug.

Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson has made the headlines again this week after President Jacob Zuma made the decision to transfer some of the minister’s powers and functions to Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental and Water Affairs. The changes relate particularly to powers and functions of the ministers under the Marine Living Resources Act.

It would seem that even the president is now aware that Minster Joemat-Pettersson needs a little help.

Judith Sole is back in the news this week with another appearance before the Western Cape High Court. She is now asking for the full suspension of rock lobster fishing for up to 10 years. Alternatively, she would like to see the suspension of all commercial rock lobster fishing.

Although Sole’s efforts are admirable, one must bear in mind that 2500 rights holders would be drastically affected by such a ruling. Surely an open discussion between Ms Sole, the rights holders and the respondents in the case, Tina Joemat-Pettersson and Greta Apelgren-Narkadien, former fisheries deputy director, to see where changes could be made to protect all those involved, including the rock lobster, would be more beneficial.

Speaking at the African Marine Debris Summit in Kirstenbosch this week, Deputy Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Rejoice Mabudafhasi raised concerns about the ever-increasing amount of waste making its way to our oceans. With continued economic growth in Africa, waste management is becoming a critical issue.

Marine debris has a negative impact on health, tourism and is responsible for the deaths of many sea creatures. “Africa must not join the rest of the world using the sea as a dumping area for its waste material,” said the minister.

Let us hope that a solution can be found … and quickly.

Weekly Press Review – 31 May 2013

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The Seli 1 is back in the news this week. The SA Navy resumed the blasting of the vessel earlier in the week and a fuel tank was damaged resulting in a spill of light bunker fuel. As a result, the city restricted public access to the sea in the Blouberg area and the press started to nose around.

City disaster risk management spokesman, Wilfred Solomons-Johannes said that a helicopter crew had been dispatched to monitor the spill but, at present, there was no danger to the coastline or marine wildlife.

One must ask why there were no protective measures in place during the blasting? This is, after all, a public beach with a large marine wildlife presence. One also has to presume that, had a commercial entity been contracted to undertake the wreck removal, very stringent measures would have had to have been in place before any form of blasting was permitted.

West coast rock lobster is also back in the news this week, but this time not linked to the rights allocation process. Sadly, our very South African kreef has been downgraded from “green” status to “orange” status on the Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (Sassi) list. This means that when you now order rock lobster in a restaurant, from an environmental perspective it has gone from “best choice” to “think twice”.

The Spanish Navy vessel Rago is visiting our shores this week. The combat frigate is part of the EU naval force’s anti-piracy mission off the Horn of Africa and earlier this month was involved in the capture of several suspected pirates. The 10-day visit is designed to provide the crew with a short rest period and also to strengthen ties with the SA Navy.

Weekly Press Review – 24 May 2013

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The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the country’s marine patrol vessels are back in the press this week as the government toys with idea of taking responsibility for the vessels away from DAFF completely and handing it to the Department of Transport’s SA Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).

According to a senior shipping source, the idea behind the move would be to place the patrol ships under a department with marine safety responsibilities and disaster management expertise. The question is whether a body tasked with implementing safety standards on vessels should necessarily be owning vessels themselves.

Although this makes sense from a safety perspective, where does the responsibility for research then lie?

According to another article in the press, more and more novices are being drawn into the world of perlemoen poaching. Recently police have made a number of arrests in areas such as Khayelitsha and Nyanga, areas not traditionally associated with perlemoen poaching. According to Shaheen Moolla, chief executive of the marine research company Feike, “The reality is that poaching in these areas has been on the increase for some time.”

Carol Moses of DAFF added that, “Poaching is not an isolated criminal activity and poachers often work in association with illegal drug dealers and other organised crime elements.”

The result is that the poaching of our country’s perlemoen now needs to be addressed from many different angles and a unified, co-operative front will need to be established if there is any hope of seeing our perlemoen 30 years from now.

Also making news this week was the open letter to Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson. A group of academics from UCT, the University of the Western Cape, the Oceanographic Institute and Rhodes University, as well as the World Wild Life Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Masifundise Development Trust have written a letter to the Minister calling for an extension to the time given for public feedback on important upcoming legislation. The public was initially given six weeks to comment on the Marine Living Resources Amendment Bill, but this was subsequently cut to three weeks.

We wait to hear her response – if there is one.