Southern Region:
Ports (3)
1. 2. 3.
Durban Richards Bay Pretoria
Regional Office
21st Floor, Durban Bay House. Durban
Staff 38
Services Offered
•
Flag state surveys: Ship surveys, inspections, and certifications (Safety, IOPP, Load line, Hull. Etc); Port State: PSCI, Coastal State Casualty Investigations; Accreditation, Re-accreditation and Auditing of training institutions; Cargo loading approvals; Training Institution Accreditations site inspections, Medical Practitioners Accreditations site inspections; Cargo surveys, inspections and certifications; Accreditation, Re-accreditation and Auditing of training institutions; Approval, Re-approval and Auditing of medical practitioners; Accreditation, Re-accreditation and Auditing of Seafarer Recruitment Agencies; Approval, Re-approval and Auditing of equipment and service providers; Conduct level 3 assessments and other assessment activities, etc
SAMSA’S Eastern region whose regional office is located in a block on the shoreline northeast of the city of Durban, and offering all SAMSA services and products, is a tad complex in terms of its location spread.
On the coastal side of the Indian Ocean rim, it accounts for an area — the real eastern region — constituted by a coastline of approximately 550km, stretching from Ponte da Oura on the border of Mozambique to Port Edward in southern Kwazulu-natal.
But it also accounts for the “Northern Region”, with offices in Pretoria, responsible for the inland dams and significant inland waterways spread across no less than six provinces including Kwazulu-natal,
Free State, Gauteng, North West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga; together occupying a combined land area of 552 496 square kilometres, which is just over half of South Africa’s total land area!
The six provinces have a combined total 84 dams of different sizes feeding off a network of rivers, with North West accounting for the bulk (21) followed by Limpopo (16) Mpumalanga, Free State and Kwazulu-natal (14 each) and Gauteng – the tiniest of the provinces, with five, including the one of the largest dams in the area, the Vaal, on the river of the same name.
In the area nestles the country’s busiest ports, with Durban — the biggest — and Richards Bay handling an assortment of vessels of various sizes and types, including containers, general, tankers, bulk, and small vessels.
Main maritime sector services (field operations) carried out daily in Durban and Richards Bays include Flag State surveys involving ship surveys, inspections, and certifications as well as Safety, IOPP, load line, hull, Port State Inspections, Coastal State Casualty Investigations; accreditation, re-accreditation, and auditing of training institutions; cargo loading approvals; training institution accreditations, site inspections, and medical practitioners accreditations.
The list of activities also includes cargo surveys, inspections, and certifications; accreditation, re-accreditation, and auditing of training institutions; approval, re-approval, and auditing of medical practitioners; accreditation, re-accreditation, and auditing of seafarer recruitment agencies; approval, re-approval and auditing of equipment and service providers; conduct of level 3 assessments and other assessment activities.
Inland in Pretoria the office deals with inland waters, small boats, IMDG containers, accreditations of doctors and a related assortment of relevant services.
For the region, main maritime sector services (office based) that are carried out daily by the region include Level 3 assessments/seafarer examinations; seafarer Coc revalidation applications; eyesight tests; seamen’s record book applications; training institutions accreditation applications; medical practitioners accreditations applications; casualty investigations report writing, Flag state surveys; PSCI reports etc.
As could be expected, busy times between the region’s coastal area and the inland area differ markedly, with the ports in both Durban and Richards working round the clock throughout the year, while the inland waterways areas only ever get really busy in the autumn season.
Troublesome common incidents the Eastern Region must deal with regularly include stevedore casualties and mostly small vessel incidents which can stretch resources to deal with day-to-day emergencies/casualties. Teamwork is the key word here according to management.
Further, to ensure continuous appropriateness, improvement, enhancement, and sustainability of delivered services to the various segments of the maritime sector, as with all SAMSA regions, the Eastern Region keeps close contact for cooperation and collaboration with various relevant public and private institutions, some domestic and others global.
These include the International Maritime Organisation, Department of Transport, Ministry of Forestry and Fishing, Abuja & Indian Ocean MOU, Society of Master Mariners South Africa, South African Institute of Marine Engineers & Naval Architects (SAIMENA), Ports Welfare Committees, ITF, Fishing Forum, Seafarer welfare organisations, P&I Insurers, Ship Owners and Agents, Training Institutions and Universities, DIRCO, SA Navy, Department of Public Works South Africa, Ezemvelo Wildlife, Isimangaliso Wetland Park, DEA, DFFE and TNPA.