Durban

After a five-day voyage which began at the Cape Town Harbour on Monday, 11 October the world’s first all-female crewed ship, the SA Agulhas will arrive at the Port of Durban today.

The voyage co-ordinated by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) is to bring to highlight the milestones on gender transformation in the maritime industry. The vessel is manned by captains, engineers and support services all female, and the receiving staff at the harbour will also be all female.

During the SA Agulhas’s stop-over in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, school pupils were invited aboard the ship for an opportunity to witness the intricacies of operating a vessel by spending some time on a network system that  incorporated maritime studies into high school syllabuses and university curricula.

It is hoped that this initiative, as well as the critical cooperation within government will bring the industry  closer to solutions for the shortage of cadetship berths that is the bottleneck on the country’s training system and ties in well with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s declaration of 2010 being the Year of the Seafarer. The intention has been not only to draw attention to the unique circumstances within which seafarers spend their working lives, while rendering their indispensable services, but also to make a palpable and beneficial difference. This is also to draw attention to a workforce that is largely unheralded and unacknowledged, often even within the industry it serves.

An estimated 90% of world trade goes sea facilitated by 1.5 million sea farers. However in the South African context where 98% of the trade is by sea there are only 1 500 South Africans farers in the country’s ports. The disparity between the number of unemployed South African’s and the low numbers of seafarers could be curbed if more people were encouraged to take up opportunities in the maritime industry; especially women.

The arrival of the SA Agulhas at the port of Durban will be followed by the launch of the new virtual Centre for Seafarers and Fishing which will be launched in Durban on Saturday, 16 October.

The centre has a three year plan to produce between 1000 and 1600 new seafarers each year. SAMSA is currently working on putting the necessary resources such as lecturers and the right technology in place to ensure t this highly practicable target is met.

Through the centre SAMSA will be investing considerable amounts of resources to position maritime studies amongst school pupils and university students, the highlight being the introduction of maritime studies at high school level in line with school syllabuses.

In addition the Department of Tourism and SAMSA have identified 1100 school children that will go on a cruise ship later this year. The children have been earmarked to take up careers in seafaring. 800 of the pupils have been identified to work as chefs on cruise ships and the 300 as hospitality staff on ships.

Members of the media are invited to join us as we welcome the SA Agulhas and our women on Friday, 18 October at the Durban Harbour.

For more information:
Prudence Mbatha
SAMSA Media Relations
Cell: 0760624791
pmbatha@samsa.org.za

Editors Note:
Accountable to the Minister of Transport, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) was established on 1 April 1998 in terms of the South African Maritime Safety Authority Act 5 of 1998.

SAMSA is governed by a Board made up of the CEO and six non-executive members, including the Chair and Deputy Chair, as appointed by the Minister.

The organisation’s objective is to lead and champion South Africa’s maritime interests as custodians and stewards of maritime policy, vigorous promoters of the maritime sector and giving full and complete effect to their obligations for the benefit of all stakeholders.