‘Business as usual’
JAN CRONJE
THE discovery of a centuries-old Dutch East India Company nautical chart was the final clue that marine archaeologist Bruno Werz needed to prove he was indeed on the right track to finding the wreck of De Haarlem, a Dutch trade ship that sank in Table Bay in 1647.
On Thursday, Werz announced he had narrowed down the search for the wreck to an area between Bloubergstrand and Milnerton.
The Dutch ship sank more than 350 years ago en route from Batavia, now Jakarta, to Holland via the Cape of Good Hope.
It was carrying a cargo of Chinese porcelain, guinée cloth, black pepper, cinnamon, as well as a number of cannons.
Werz is the chief executive of the African Institute for Marine and Underwater Research, Exploration and Education, which is running the search for the wreckage under the umbrella of The Haarlem Project.
A former Dutch navy diver, he has been involved in the excavation of a number of well-known ships, including the Bom Jesus on the Namibian coast.
In 2008, the wreckage of this 16th-century Portuguese ship was found by diamond miners near Oranjemund.
Werz was involved in its painstaking excavation, which included a spectacular haul of priceless ancient coins.
Speaking to The Independent on Saturday’s sister paper, Weekend Argus, at the launch of the search for De Haarlem, Werz said he had spent many days searching for any mention of the vessel in Dutch and South African state archives.
The eureka moment came when he found a map in the Dutch archives which stated that “this is where the ship Haarlem foundered”.
Geophysical surveys of the area indicated by the chart had thrown up “three major contacts” which could be the wreckage of the wooden ship. The next step in the search was to explore these sites with test excavations.
If evidence of a ship was found, the institute would apply to the SA Heritage Resources Agency for a permit for full excavation, Werz said, adding that the entire process could take between four and five years, and would cost roughly R3.2 million. The crew of De Haarlem salvaged most of its cargo in 1647, so the purpose of finding the shipwreck lay in its archaeological significance, Werz said. THE wage strike by members of the SA Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) at the Automobile Association (AA) has had no impact on operations, the company said yesterday.
“It is business as usual,” said spokesman Layton Bard.
Bard added that there were no complaints from clients.
However, when African News Agency called the AA switchboard yesterday asking for comment regarding the strike, a staff member said she was not able to transfer the call to management due to switchboard operators having embarked on a strike.
Bard later blamed a “technical glitch” for the problems with transferring phone calls.
The union is demanding a 12 percent across-the-board wage increase, a R9000 minimum wage, a 13th cheque and a 60 percent company contribution to a pension fund and medical aid scheme.
“The employer is only offering a 6 percent wage increase across the board. Also at stake is the signing of the union recognition agreement, due to a dispute regarding paid timeoff and benefits for full-time shop stewards,” said the union. – African News Agency