Strict, hasty legislation may paint industry in a corner

INTERSPERSED with footage taken aboard foreign-owned tankers, a young navigation officer’s talk to youngsters at Lawhill Maritime Centre in Simon’s Town (his alma mater) last week came from the heart.

Those video clips depicted his vessel rolling heavily while crossing the North Atlantic in wild weather; other clips featured calm, tropical seas and beautiful sunsets, forming part of an inspirational presentation for his young audience. He told his sea-going autobiography as it is – the good and the bad, the exciting and the boring.

His delight in his career and his determination to move up the ladder to command were obvious, essential elements to spark enthusiasm among the young folks to follow his example. More importantly, his values spoke loudly through his refreshing humility, his clean-cut image, as well as the old car parked outside the centre (simply four wheels to get him around during his few weeks’ leave, rather than a flashy gasguzzler), and also through his care for his widowed mother.

Many young South Africans who display a good work ethic, who have selfdiscipline and who demonstrate real enthusiasm for a maritime-related future, have made this an interesting career, usually rewarded with dollar-related salaries. Latter-day ships’ officers follow in the wake of those who did their pre-sea training aboard General Botha, once a training ship anchored in Simon’s Bay, or later a stone frigate atop Red Hill during World War II, thereafter at Gordon’s Bay and finally at Granger Bay.

After concluding their training, most Bothie Boys joined Shell Tankers, Ellermans, Union-Castle and other wellknown British companies as cadets, but from the early 1960s the expanding Safmarine or local coasting companies took most of them.

Systems have changed over the years. Without a locally flagged fleet that once numbered over 50 commercial vessels and provided work for hundreds of officers and ratings, many South African cadets are serving in foreign ships again. To resurrect a South African merchant fleet and in the interests of job creation, the government plans to introduce cabotage, a controversial system that forces shippers to use locally flagged (or regionally flagged) ships for coastwise cargoes.

A percentage of designated and easily identifiable export cargoes could also be forced into a cabotage system. Similarly, offshore support vessels operating from local ports to rigs and platforms in the South African economic exclusion zone could be compelled to fly the local flag and have local crews.

Instead of hurrying to legislate and possibly alienating companies who otherwise might agree to employ South Africans, thorough research might reveal that, to widen the scope in terms of the most suitable and economical vessels, the use of South African-operated ships for those designated cargoes or offshore work might be the answer. An extension might be the reservation of certain cargoes for ships with a prescribed percentage of South African crew members.

Overly strict or hasty legislation may paint the shipping industry into a corner, especially when it comes to compelling ships to employ entirely South African crews. Few South Africans have experience in capesize ore carriers or large tankers, while local senior engineers are scarce.

To meet the demand, local maritime training programmes should be streamlined and staffed with the best and most experienced people. Then those programmes will produce more officers of the calibre of that young second mate whose eloquent, inspiring tales sparked such interest in his chosen profession.