Maintaining a global standard of maritime sector education and training without compromise:
South Africa has a system of training its seafarers that meets the requirements of the STCW Convention
It was a year ago, in November 2023, that South Africa’s maritime sector sighed with great relief and celebrated after a formal confirmation that the country had retained its stature as a global authority in maritime sector education in terms of the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW Convention).
The IMO’S 1978 STCW Convention stipulates standards of training, certification and watch-keeping for seafarers. According to the IMO: “The main purpose of the Convention is to promote safety of life and property at sea and the protection of the marine environment by establishing in common agreement international standards of training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers”.
The IMO’S secretariat maintains a list (the so-called “Whitelist”) of countries that have demonstrated that they have given and continue to give “full and complete effect” to the STCW Convention. The STCW Whitelist is a testament that the country, through its administration, has a system of training its seafarers that meets the requirements of the STCW Convention. This is achieved by the Parties to the STCW Convention by undergoing an Independent Evaluation, a report of which is evaluated by a panel appointed by the IMO’S secretariat, to report to the IMO’S SG.
For a considerable period, South Africa had to subject itself to the scrutiny of the independent evaluation of its seafarers’ education and training administration in terms of the STCW requirements, but in November 2022, it received the good news that it had passed the audit.
The report of the audit’s positive outcome for South Africa by the IMO’S Secretary General Kitack Lim to the IMO’S Maritime Safety Committee, sitting in its 106th session held in London on 31 October 2022, literally meant that Certificates issued by South Africa to the country’s, including those from neighbouring SADC countries, seafarers spread across the world would retain their full validity status.
The IMO audit verdict delivered in London stated that:
“The Secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization, having solicited and taken into account the views expressed by competent persons, selected from the list established pursuant to section A-I/7, paragraph 7 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code, reports that the Government of South Africa, Party to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, has communicated information as required by regulation I/8, paragraph 3 of the Convention (2nd cycle report) and section A-I/7, paragraphs 4 to 6 of the Code, and that the information considered by the competent persons referred to in section A-I/7, paragraph 7 of the Code has demonstrated that full and complete effect is given by South Africa to the provisions of the 1978 STCW Convention.”
Admittedly, at the time, far more relieved than most was the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), a State agency under the Department of Transport (DOT) responsible for the management and administration of seafarer education and training in terms of the STCW Convention, as it is also for keeping a register of seafarers.
SAMSA’S Deputy Chief Operations Officer, Captain Vernon Keller, had personally travelled to London to receive and welcome the IMO Panel’s evaluation outcome and later expressed delight about the verdict, describing it as the “best news for South Africa, SAMSA, the seafarer and general maritime sector community in a while”.
This was in reference to the Panel’s report of South Africa on aspects of the STCW Convention relating to among others, convention regulations to be met inclusive of the STCW Code, and evaluation involving implementation measures and monitoring and compliance measures.
Capt. Keller said: “It is with great privilege to announce today that South Africa officially passed our IMO STCW Audit as assessed by a panel of experts [sic, panel of competent persons]. Our having successfully met and satisfied the IMO STCW Convention evaluation requirements means that we, as South Africa, give full and complete effect to the STCW convention.
“This also means that the South African STCW Certificate of Competence remains recognised internationally, and is in good
standing, and therefore South African seafarers and companies do not have to worry about losing their jobs because their Coc’s fall off the Whitelist,” said Capt. Keller.
Extending a word of gratitude to all those who contributed to the achievement both at SAMSA and elsewhere, Capt. Keller said: “As a team, we have all worked hard towards this moment. Despite the many challenges that we faced as an organisation over the last few years, we again proved that through great adversity, only by working together can we achieve great things.
“As South Africa, we can now actively pursue more STCW Regulation 1/10 agreements [MOUS] with other flag states to help create more job opportunities for South African seafarers,” he said.
Also delighted and visibly so was SAMSA Chief Examiner, Azwimmbavhi Nelwamondo, who was simply at a loss of words for the success: “I don’t know what to say — I thought I’d have a speech, but I am speechless. I’m having to think hard about this. As a great man once said, ‘it seems impossible until it is done’.
“I didn’t think doing one’s job could bring so much joy. I am entirely grateful to the team that worked alongside me this whole time. The focus and ability they demonstrated has been amazing. The quality of the work they did was amazing. It is testament to their efforts that the Independent Evaluators made no nonconformities against the Quality Standards System we have built.”
Notably, it is highly significant that since that period, South Africa has signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (Mous) with a few countries relating to the mutual recognition of seafarers’ certificates.
The first of several countries to sign Mous on seafarers’ certification recognition with South Africa within a short time of the IMO announcement were Ghana and Panama, who did so during the inaugural staging on African soil of the IMO’S World Maritime Day Parallel Event (WMDPE) attended by delegates of its 175 Member States in Durban last year.
Of similarly high significance is that South Africa has since also had its maritime sector education and training syllabus committee reconstituted and reestablished under a revised Constitution and a Code of Conduct. The 37-member strong committee with notable enhanced inclusiveness, was relaunched with the maritime sector industry support and applause in Durban in July 2023.
Broadly, according to Nelwamondo, the Syllabus Committee’s role is focused three aspects: the development, reviewal and maintenance of the training and assessment standards for seafarers through the Training Standards Code, development, and submission of proposals for consideration amendment of Regulations, and the identification and channelling to the SAMSA of any other matters relating to the training, assessment and certification of seafarers, raised by members of the public.