From 9^th till the 13^th May 2022 we were involved with Incident Management Systems (IMS) training which entails managing disastrous situations. The content of the training was conducted from the 9^th till the 11^th and the 12^th -13^th was dedicated for a simulated exercise of an oil spill in Table Bay.

Fishing Training with Selwyn Bailey (16th -18^th May 2022)

Mr Selwyn Bailey introduced us to a fishing side of things where various topics were covered including fishing unit, C188 Inspections, Fisherman Crew contracts and ILO publication.

Fishing Unit: This was formed due to fatalities that the fishing industry was facing with the aim to reduce those fatalities and one of their core objectives is to ensure overall safety and development within the fishing community. To reduce the fatalities the fishing forum introduced the pre-sea courses for fisherman before joining onboard which was the practice that was not a requirement before in the fishing industry.

National Fishing Forum: The mission of this forum to grow, develop and ensure competitiveness of the South African fishing industry. In doing so they have various clusters which identify challenges and opportunities within the industry which varies from skills, training, industry development, small scale fishers’ community pilot projects and much more.

Crew Contracts: We discussed how the current crew contracts of fishermen should entail, in accordance with Marine Notice 10 of 2017 which can be found at SAMSA website. We then compared the old crew agreement sample with the requirements from the MN 10 of 2017 where a few discrepancies were identified.

ILO Working in Fishing Convention 188, of 2007 (C188) Inspection:

The International Labour Organization is a specialist agency of the United Nations. The ILO Work in convention 188 (2007), was taken on in 2007 to go into force on 16 November 2017.

The goal of the convention is to guarantee that fishers have suitable working conditions on board fishing vessels, states of administration, convenience and food, work related wellbeing and insurance, clinical consideration and retirement.

It applies to all fishers and fishing vessels engaged in commercial fishing operations. The aim is to assist with ensuring and maintaining good working conditions on board fishing vessels and considers least prerequisites to be authorized through flag and port state inspections.

The Convention sets in place a mechanism to ensure compliance with and enforcement of its provisions for member states who have ratified, providing for large fishing vessels and fishing vessels on extended international voyages to be subjected to labour inspections in foreign ports.

ILO also produced a handbook for improving living and working conditions on board fishing vessels where South Africa assisted in compiling this handbook. This was created to help capable specialists, delegate associations of bosses and laborer’s as well as others with an interest in the area to acquire a superior comprehension of the arrangements of the convention No. 188 and recommendation No. 199.

Most importantly, whether a State decides to ratify the Convention immediately or otherwise the handbook will be a useful tool for looking at the current legal protection of fishers, for analyzing the situation and for making improvements.

South Africa is one of the countries in the world that has ratified to the convention, which gives the country the authority to conduct port state inspections for vessels that have called onto any of its ports.

Condition of Assignment Training

On the 19^th of May 2022 we conducted training on the condition of assignment. These are the conditions which the vessel must meet before freeboard is assigned and load line certificate is issued after conducting a load line survey.

The freeboards are computed assuming that the ship is completely enclosed and watertight / weathertight. The convention further goes onto recognize the practical need for openings in the ship and prescribes means of protection and closure of such openings.

These are called condition of assignment since the assignment of computed free board is conditional upon the prescribed means of protection and closure of openings such as hatchways, doorways, ventilation, air pipes, scuppers, etc. Following are the conditions which must be met before assigning the load line.

• Enough structural strength should be possessed.
• Enough reserve buoyancy should be possessed.
• Safety and protection of crew.
• Prevent entry of water through hull.

MARITIME RESCUE COORDINATING CENTRE (MRCC)

On the 23^{rd of} May till the 3^rd June 2022 we spent time at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) situated in Plattekloof, east of the city of Cape Town. Located under SAMSA, the MRCC has a mandate from the Department of Transport (DOT) to carry out certain duties on its behalf, primarily Search and Rescue in compliance with the Search and Rescue Act.

These duties include but are not limited to search and rescue, implementing the requirements of bilateral SAR agreements with other countries, execute a Maritime Assistance Service (MAS), act as the custodian for SA Navigational Communications Search and Rescue (NCSR) beacon registration database, International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code for vessels entering South African ports.

We spent time with Duty Controllers and Assistant Duty Controllers roping us in on what they do of each of the mentioned duties stated above.  We have identified the gap between MRCC and other maritime industry players where we feel training / education needs to be implemented so that lines of communications are clear as to who to contact especially when it comes to dealing with emergencies.

End

The Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment (DFFE) limits non-commercial crayfishing to 12 days over a 5-month period, of which the 15th to the 17th included 3 days.

With these dates falling over the Easter weekend in 2022, it was expected that holiday destinations such as Kleinmond and the surrounding areas would have a high traffic flow of fishers, all wanting to go out on the water to catch some crayfish. 

At least the SAMSA Boating Centre personnel thought as much a decision was made to actually visit the small coastal town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, unannouced.

The goal was to perform ad-hoc inspections on vessels, not only to ensure the compliance of vessels and their owners with applicable safe boating regulations, but also to show face and engage with the community.

The team started early morning and met up at the Kleinmond Slipway where they set up a SAMSA station with flyers, ready to promote SAMSA and engage with the community.

It was a quiet morning with a few local fishermen coming by to observe the weather. The windy conditions caused a rough wind swell and very difficult launching conditions in this slipway that put off even the most experienced locals. From this, we decided to send another team to investigate the traffic at the Hangklip Slipway.

The Hangklip Slipway was packed with various fishers, from divers to surf casters, but most importantly for us, skippers with vessels. Neo Tseladimitloa and I performed various ad-hoc inspections, totalling 18.

This is where we see if vessels and their owners are compliant with the necessary paperwork and that they have the needed safety appliances on board before heading to sea. While performing these ad-hoc inspections, I try to have a conversation with the skippers and crew to learn more about the clients and the area. I ask them what incidents they have experienced and how they handled them, and what they can do differently next time.

Most skippers were compliant and even happy to have SAMSA present at the slip, as they have never seen this happen before. It was good to hear that they would like to see more CIC’s in order to catch the non-compliant vessels and irresponsible skippers that compromise people’s lives out at sea.

Most vessels and skipper tickets were compliant. The most frequent problems I encountered were:

1. Buoyancy Certificates in the incorrect format. This is already a topic that is discussed in every small vessel and buoyancy course that we have presented.
2. “Kill Switches”, not in a “ready to use” state prior to launching, also covered in the Small Vessel Course, and always mentioned during small vessel surveys.

There are great benefits in CIC’s with promoting Safety at Sea by ensuring compliancy of vessels and their owners. It is always good to see the community act positively towards SAMSA’s presence. The SAMSA Boating Centre’s plan for the near future is for more CIC’s in all relevant areas.

End

In the month of March 2022 I have been involved in a few safety surveys in and around East London within the area of our jurisdiction. This ensures operational readiness of the boats and ensure that the boats are kept in a pristine condition to remain seaworthy under normal operations and perils of the sea.

When we attended to one of the surveys in Kei mouth, we also made a visit to the Kei Mouth river crossing and witnessed the operations of river ferries transporting personnel and cars to and fro. This is one of the most critical crossings in the area as it is the most conducive and affordable method for the people of the region.

I also had a visit to the East London NSRI Station and at which they shared some information with us with regards to the Water Safety Education that they are involved in.

The NSRI’s Water Safety Education program began in 2006. The intention is to help individuals all through South Africa to be protected in and around water, particularly the people who are generally vulnerable and those that cannot swim, especially kids under the age of 14 years.

The need for Water Safety Education is obvious if we consider the drowning statistics in our country. Underserved rural communities in particular are most vulnerable to drownings in farm dams, rivers and streams. Without formal swimming skills people too often find themselves in trouble and they usually aren’t successful in getting out of those situations alive.

The NSRI’s program presents a compelling Water Safety educational plan to make mindfulness about the risks of water, what to do in case of witnessing someone drowning and who to call for help. It is worth noting that NSRI also developed a pink buoy initiative.

These pink buoys are placed strategically at selected inland rivers, dams and at beaches. These bright pink buoys act as a reminder beachgoers to take care when there are no lifeguards on duty, and that in the event of someone getting into difficulty in the water, they can be used as emergency flotation until help arrives. Their bright pink colour allows them to be easily seen.

Each Pink Rescue Buoy is housed on a sturdy pole with signage showing how they should be used, as well as the NSRI’s emergency number and the buoy’s unique identification number, which helps rescue services to identify the location of the emergency.

ID numbers and NSRI’s contact telephone numbers are also embossed on the buoys themselves so they can easily be returned to their posts after usage, or if they are lost or stolen. We also went on a tour of the East London base itself and the resources available at their disposal in order to safely and efficiently carry out their duties.

End

It was good to have some positive feedback from the fisherman and their community leaders. They were very grateful for the input SAMSA has made and the engagement that they have received. These are poor communities that really need to be guided and assisted by their community leaders, municipalities and their Maritime Safety Authority, to ensure a safe working regime can be achieved.

SAMSA has nine (9) offices spread across four (4) regions, with the 10th office being the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). Each office with its relative ports has a certain uniqueness with the different types of work and shipping activities they offer.

Being exposed to these different working environments and positions can be very beneficial, as it allows for a much greater scope of the working structure and operations within SAMSA while also improving one’s surveying capabilities.

I had the privilege to undergo my first rotation at the Saldanha Bay office where I could work alongside various surveyors. Each surveyor has a speciality in which they excel in the field, and it was a great learning experience.

The West Coast is also home to well-renowned shipbuilders which I was fortunate enough to not only visit but to partake in surveys that are part of the new build construction process of a vessel.

End

During the month of March I have been involved with a few safety surveys inspections as well as hull surveys. These ensure that the vessel and its equipment is being maintained in a good state, with the latter ensureing watertightness integrity of the vessel. The purpose of the surveys is to ensure that the vessel remains seaworthy to face any perils out at sea.

Vessels carry various cargoes and one of the cargoes that gets loaded onto vessels in the port of Durban is International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes( IMSBC). In order for vessels to load these type of cargoes proper documentation including a Certificate of fitness which specify the categories of the IMSBC that the vessel is fit to carry, stowage plan where these will be stowed, ships certificates, etc; need to be sent to SAMSA as well  details of  the cargo properties in terms of moisture content and transportable moisture limit ( TML).

The cargo may appear to be in a dry state when being loaded and yet contain moisture which when in a vessel, is subject to vibration and compaction along the seaway may, thereby causing liquification to cargo that results in stability problems and may even result in the capsizing of the vessel.

Therefore, these types of cargoes should only be loaded when the moisture content of the cargo is lower than (TML). The interval between testing and loading of IMSBC shall never be more than seven (7) days. Otherwise another sample must be taken.

End

by Khanyisile Mthethwa

Durban -SAMSA Eastern Region

One of SAMSA’s responsibilities is to accredit training institutions to ensure that Standard of Training, Watchkeeping and Certification (STCW) are met across the country. The aim is to maintain South Africa on the whitelist under the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Training institutes that provide services like servicing of fire equipment used both on board vessels and ashore, as well as servicing of fife saving equipment are required to be audited by SAMSA in order for the services providers to obtain approval for the services they provide and deliver.

The audits are conducted to confirm that only the properly qualified and suitable companies are accredited by SAMSA to maintain the standards across the country. Furthermore, I also observed an annual accreditation exercise for one of the Fire Equipment Servicing Companies guided by South African Maritime Code of Practice for Marine Fire Service Stations (SAMFAS).

This procedure included confirming that the fire servicing station is approved and operating as per South African National Standards (SANS). In addition to this, the servicing company is also accredited by South African National Accreditation System (SANAS) to ensure conformity for the services they provide.

I had the privilege of joining my colleagues tasked with accrediting a new training institution in Durban that offers short courses for seafarers. During this exerciseI got an exposure to all the necessary standards that the applicant institution must meet as per SAMSA standards, to get accreditation.

The audit included checking areas such as the suitability of the premises, ablutions, sitting areas for lunch as well as documents within the library – to name a few – that must accordin wih legislations and regulation incuding the Merchant Shipping Act, Maritime Occupational Safety Regulations and the Maritime Labour Convention etc.

The visit included interviewing the facilitators but more importantly to confirm that the syllabus is in line with SAMSA code which entails what must be covered within the content of the STCW code. All the documentation submitted is checked against SAMSA’s Checklist, verified by the Principal Officer in Durban and thereafter a report compiled for approval by a Senior Examiner in Cape Town. End

East London – SAMSA Southern Region

On 31 January 2022, I had an opportunity to board a vehicle carrier, the CARMEN for a Port State Control Inspection with Captain Emile Van Der Merwe. CARMEN (IMO: 9505027) is a Sweden flagged vehicle carrier built some 11 years ago (2011). Her length overall (LOA) is 231.6 meters, and her width is 32.25 meters, with a carrying capacity of 31143 t DWT.

I got to understand the professional conduct, approach and the best way to conduct a Port State as well as the engagement with the Captain and the chief engineer aboard the vessel. The chief engineer was also generous enough to take us on a tour for their Scrubber system that they had on board, although we were on time constraints.

We also conducted a stevedore safety inspection on board the vessel following the prescribed format to ensure the safety of the stevedores aboard the vessel as well as that operations are conducted safely without any damage to the ship or injury to the stevedore personnel.

The main focal points were the access to the vessel, proper planning for the task at hand, supervision of the stevedores, protective clothing for the stevedores, access to working areas, housekeeping, the cargo working area, working at heights, firefighting, and emergencies, including some general stuff related to the stevedoring operation itself.

At some point, I also got involved with the team after the SAMSA Office was informed about a vessel operating in the Nahoon river in East London and which, upon investigation, it came to light that the vessel had questionable registration. It had an SR number, yet it was advertised to carry passengers for day and night trips. After some deliberation with the owner, a prohibition notice was issued as well as an AOC (Admission of Contravention to the owner), subject to certain conditions of agreement when the owner was summoned to our office.

The owner opted to pay a fine and have his boat licensed accordingly, to be issued with a DTE number and surveyed by us to make sure he is operating safely without any hustles.

On 28 February I had an opportunity to join the OHS & Welfare team for stakeholder consultation on safety issues between SAMSA/Transnet Port Terminals/Stevedores at the port of East London. The main guidelines were outlining any safety related issues in the Port of East London.

It proved to be a very fruitful engagement with all the entities detailing and advising on the way forward in terms of the industry development and adoption of a safety culture for stevedores working in the ports. MOSR was also presented briefly and incorporated onto the discussions with new developments.

There was a briefing about the VGM (Verified Gross Mass) with the port terminal, in order to guarantee the safety of the vessel, the workers on board and on land, the cargo and the general safety at sea. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention), amended, establishes in Chapter VI, Part A, Regulation 2, the mandatory gross mass verification of packed containers before the container is loaded aboard a vessel.

VERIFIED GROSS MASS (VGM) is the sum of the tare mass of the container and the masses of all the bundles and cargo items, including the pallets, dunnage and other packing and securing materials to be packed in the container.

It was discussed that any discrepancies between the weight declared by the shippers and the actual gross mass of a packed container may lead to incorrect vessel stowage decisions, thus resulting in serious incidents both at sea and at the port, TPT advised on their processes that they follow including safety precautions they take within the port in ensuring compliance.

TPT representatives requested a great collaboration and cooperation between SAMSA and other stakeholders as when there are incidents or accidents within the port they do not know what route or channel to follow promptly so as to have the matter resolved amicably and to the benefit of all.

In conclusion, (an observation is that) the OHS and Welfare division is under manned for the enormous tasks that they have and hence a great deal of development within the SAMSA pool would be of great benefit so as to ensure the progression, sharing, transfer of skills and knowledge for the greater benefit and prosperity of the organization, thus ensuring continuous development within the organization. End

By Esethu Hlokoza

By Taro Lombard

Cape Town – SAMSA Western Region

Part of SAMSA’s objective is to forever improve safety at sea. This can be ensured in many ways, with the most effective methods being to perform safety surveys and ad-hoc inspections. SAMSA must apply both these methods to ensure vessels comply with the safety standards set out for them.

Small vessels dominate South Africa’s maritime industry in terms of numbers, being just shy of 30 000 in number. Unfortunately, SAMSA does not have the manpower to survey or ad-hoc all these vessels. To ensure that we as the authority cover safety surveys, external surveyors are appointed to assist with these surveys.

However, when it comes to performing ad-hoc inspections, SAMSA does not have any appointed external parties that are authorised to assist with and perform ad-hoc inspections. For the past two (2) years, SAMSA’s Boating Manager, Ms Debbie James has worked with various parties to solve this problem.

On the 09 February 2022, the first batch of Enforcement Officers were trained in Cape Town. The course was presented by Ms Debbie James and Marine Surveyor, Mr Jonathan Hartzenberg. It was attended by multiple officers from Department of Fisheries, Forestry and Environment (DFFE) and South African Police Services (SAPS) to enable them to perform ad-hoc inspections while out in the field. It consisted of a theoretical and a practical day, making it a two (2) day course.

It was very beneficial to have a practical day included in the training. All attendees met up at the Oceana Power Boat Club. Here we arranged to do a walk-around of a trailer borne commercial small vessel, where Jonathan walked the attendees through the ad-hoc process from start to finish.

Hereafter we went to the V&A Waterfront. Both Jonathan and I performed ad-hoc inspections on two passenger vessels where we involved the attendees in the process.

Thereafter we performed ad-hoc inspections on multiple commercial and passenger vessels, allowing the attendees to partake under guidance from both Jonathan and myself.

The attendees performed well and understood what is to be checked and how to apply oneself to an ad-hoc inspection.

The training course was successful, and the various attendees were quick to adapt and apply themselves to an ad-hoc inspection regime, working together with SAMSA’s stakeholders to ensure a good safety culture.

With more enforcement officers authorised to perform ad-hoc inspections out in the field, South Africa can achieve an even saver maritime culture. End

Saturday, 11 December 2021: We travelled to Port Alfred to do ad-hoc inspections on the Kariega River to verify whether vessels are maintained safely. We came across owners that were happy to see us, and others that were not so welcoming. However, the objective was to teach more than to detain, as in most cases skippers were not aware that they needed to have certification onboard their boats and not left at home. Being there as an authority helped with the sharing of some information with the owners/skippers. We inspected various vessels from private to commercial boats. With emphasis on an aim to teach, we also set up an information kiosk in the form of a tent so that people could come and ask questions. Initially people were reluctact, but eventually had some gathered courage to approach and ask questions. Pamphlets were also given to the boat owners/skippers as well as those that needed information.

Sunday – 12 December 2021:  We then proceeded to Kent-on-Sea, to do more ad-hocs  and here we had  one major  non compliance, and we got to witness and learn how to deal with situations of that nature while observing Capt Van Der Merwe handling it.

Tuesday, 14th December: We met up at Keurbooms River Ferries with the Principal Officer, Simon Aggett and surveyor, Paul Vieira from the Mossel Bay office. Here we carried out a heeling test on a passenger river ferry. We got to apply the theory from the Built-in Buoyancy course regarding stability, as we followed Cape Town Surveyor, Jonathan Hartzenberg through the Heeling Stability Test process. It feels good to have all the buoyancy theory tie in together with a practical demonstration of how it is all applied.
We then proceeded with our CIC at Forever Resort, Plettenberg Bay Angling Club and Keurbooms Lagoon Caravan Park towards the mouth of Plettenberg Bay, where we performed multiple ad-hoc inspections.
inspections on various recreational fishing and skiing boats. It was a good experience to tie all that we have learned from small vessels over the past few months together. We had positive engagements with the community and promoted safety while doing so.

Tuesday-Thursday, 14-16 December: During this period we were in Knysna for a concentrated inspection campaign relating to the safety of the vessels operated in and around the area, in the respective waterways found within the region. Throughout the campaign in Knysna we managed to inspect about 34 vessels and, among defects and deficiencies found were vessels that were operated with expired Local General Safety Certificate, Certificate of Fitness, and some without safety equipment or in some cases, equipment that had expired. In deserving cases, an Admission of Contravention would then be issued for the determined breach of the National Small Vessel’s regulations (2007), and fines issued as per the offence determined under the Government regulations for small vessels. As observed during engagements with the owners, skippers boat operators and local law enforcements, it emerged that SAMSA was not visible enough through these engagements. One gentleman even commented that: “I haven’t seen SAMSA in 10 years!” Nevertheless, although there were boats that were non-compliant to a certain degree, other boats had all their paper work and their operators licenced accordingly. There was also a great interaction between SAMSA and the local law enforcement officers from SANPARKS monitoring the waterways. The campaign was more of an engagement with the stakeholders and to educate the public by primarily creating boat safety awareness and thereby ensure that safety of life and the environment is all preserved. One typical example was of a skipper that had (five) 5 people on board and upon checking the safety equipment, I kindly asked him to demonstrate to me how to put on the lifejacket that they had on board. He was unable to do so, which in turn suggested possible lack of training and awareness. To compound issues, we found also that the lifejacket sizes used were all medium sizes, and therefore could not fit everyone of the crew onboard. It is also worth noting that SAMSA Mossel bay was planning a meeting with SANPARKS to consider a way forward in ensuring that all the vessels in the waterways follow the National Small Vessel Regulations (2007) and any related regulations thereto which includes permits to operating in the waterway and ensuring compliance with the municipal bylaws.

Visit to South African Sailing

Surveying commercial and pleasure vessels contributes towards SAMSA’s mission to forever improve safety within the maritime industry.

To cope with the vast amount of pleasure vessel surveys, SAMSA delegates authority to external surveyors under authorised agencies. South African Sailing (SA Sailing) is an authorised agency that has the authority to inspect and certify pleasure vessels under 100 gross tons from various affiliated clubs.

We visited Durban Marina where Mr Gavin van der Meulen, chairperson of the Inland and Offshore Committee of SA Sailing introduced us to the surveying procedure for rigging on a Sailing Boat. It was a great opportunity for us to be exposed to this type of survey, as it is mostly done by the authorised agencies.

We covered the different types of rigging setups, materials of which the deck fittings and stays (wires used to secure the mast to the deck) are made of and their means of failure.

With Gavin’s knowledge and the practical exposure to sailing vessels, their rigging setup and operation, it’s going to be much easier to identify faults and know what to look out for when conducting such a survey.

SAMSA Occupational Health and Safety

2^nd of November: We attended a course in Durban headed by Sbusiso Rantsoabe from the SAMSA Durban Office who is an Occupational Health and safety representative. We got to understand what they deal with which includes but not limited to safety related issues, working with seafarers mission to ensure the welfare of seafarers and auditing of stevedoring, packing companies as well. We then visited different organizations they work with to see what they do and that included SACD which deals with packing and securing of cargo within containers.

We also visited DORMAC where we were given a safety briefing by the chief safety officer. Here we then visited the dry-dock to see how safety officers ensure the work is carried out safely during repairs.

3^rd of November: We visited BPO (Bidfreight Port Operations) – one of the largest providers of in-port logistics in South Africa with operations in every commercial cargo port. Their areas of expertise include warehousing, stevedoring, transportation and terminal operating services and, they also deal with importing and exporting of any commodity or products in South Africa.

A visit to the Mission to Seafarers

The Durban mission to seafarers assists with all local matters pertaining to seafarers’ welfare. Besides visiting ships, the mission is affiliated with other international organizations that all work together to ensure that the wellbeing of South African and international seafarers that come into our waters are looked after. The mission also offers an opportunity to communicate with loved ones as well as rest and relaxation whilst in port. The Mission to Seafarers ensures the spiritual and physical wellbeing of seafarers is taken care of.

End.

MONDAY – 22 November 2021
We started off by visiting the Worcester boat shop where the owner took us through all the boats that he was working on. It was very insightful as there were various boat types ranging from speed boats to reinforced ribs and various sports and recreational vessels.
The owner showed us various flotation problems that vessels experience and how they are repaired, as well as various engine failures and defects, and how to spot early tell-tale signs of such failures.
Also, the various safety aspects surrounding water sport, i.e. tubing, skiing and wakeboarding, were explained and how each operation is carried out on inland waterways.
Similarly, the importance of a vessel moving on and off a trailer was also explained as a large majority of boats get
damaged due to trailers not being of suitable size and design which results in inadequate support. Various safety pamphlets was given to the boat shop which he in turn will distribute to vessel owners to spread safety awareness

The team then proceeded to the De Breede River Otter, a passenger pontoon vessel situated at the Breede river headwaters. As indicated by the pictures (Right), this vessel is constructed from various 500-litre Jo-Jo water tanks, filled with expanded foam. The team proceeded to inspect the vessel and noted all the defects and exemptions that the vessel had. Having completed the pontoon boat course, the benefits were quite evident without them being aware of the vessel history. They were also part of a practical heeling demonstration that would be carried out on such a vessel to achieve the required stability information, which was quite beneficial.

While we were busy surveying the De Breede Otter, we came across a commercial river rafting operation, which landed ashore nearby. The team then performed an ad hoc inspection on Gravity Adventures which revealed compliance with the National Small Vessels Safety Regulations.

TUESDAY – 23 November 2021
The team started the day at Nerina Guest Farm. We started with Carina se Kolganskuiken, (DTC8338R), which is going to be taken out of service. The team then proceeded with Ben se Kolganskuiken, (DTC8337R), located in the river.
Her pontoon consists of various blue plastic oil drums filled with expanded foam. The team found the vessel to be in a satisfactory condition, with minor defects. The last vessel to be inspected was Kolgans, a large wrapped fiberglass pontoon passenger vessel, upon which minor defects were found.

After finishing up in Robertson, the team surveyed Breede River Goose, (DTC8335R), located in Bonnievale.

Her pontoon was made out of fibreglass filled with expansion foam, in a very good condition. She is predominantly made out of wood and is quite well maintained with 20 years of operation.

We then decided to do an Ad hoc inspection on another vessel, Uncle Ben II, prior to the planned inspection the following day. The aim was to see her in operation as compared to owners preparing the vessel on the day of the survey.

In Swellendam the team visited the Swellendam Boat Shop, where various safety pamphlets was given to the boat shop which in turn willdistribute to vessel owners and spreading safety awareness.

The owner then took us through to the workshop and showed us the various vessels they were working on as well as a new Yamaha engine that they were fitting with a self-docking system – a first of its kind in the country.

From here, the owner then took the team to the Falcon Inflatable factory, based in Swellendam. The team was exposed to the construction and manufacturing process of these vessels, which was very informative to us all, as the whole process was laid out from start to finish with examples of moulds, materials and construction methods.

We then proceeded to Stonehill River Lodge where Arc Inflatable rafts were inspected. There were 10 rafts in total with minor defects that were identified and rectified on the day of inspection. The tour guide then proceeded to explain the total operation and all safety measures that would be taken during a routine tour.

We then proceeded to Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, where the team surveyed the Peregrine (DTP2034R) an aluminium hull passenger vessel. The vessel had a leaking fuel line, which required immediate attention. However, all other safety aspects were found to be satisfactory.

The team returned to Uncle Ben II, for the planned survey. On the occasion, weld cracks were found all along the safety railing and steps leading up to the upper platform. Although the bilge pump was operational, the hose was found to be loosely connected, which would have resulted in the bilge pump being ineffective.

(Two weeks ago, this blog introduced to its readers a group of three young seafarers at the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) currently undergoing training as Marine Officers over a two year period. The programme launched by SAMSA this year identifies and seeks to groom young talented South Africa seafarers below CoC Unlimited (Master Mariner) level through broad exposure in its onshore activities related to particularl small vessels safety in order to broaden their understanding as well as maritime technical skills. In a brief online video chat, the three trainee Marine Officers – Mr Tora Lombard of Cape Town (Western Cape), Mr Esethu Hlokoza of Libode (Eastern Cape) and Ms Khanyisiwe Mthethwa of Durban (KwaZulu-Natal) outlined both their seafaring experience to date, their interest and expectations of the Marine Officer Development Programme as well as their oulook on maritime technical skills broadly.

To listen to that brief video chat, click on the video.

However notably, during that brief chat the trainee MOs also undertook to share regularly with this blog their experiences of their training along with insights gained. Below, is their second report.

That is according to SAMSA’s Centre for Boating Manager, Ms Debbie James, who along with senior officials of the agency inclusive of the Acting CEO, Ms Tsepiso Taoana-Mashiloane and Deputy Chief Operations Officer, Captain Vernon Keller; attended the event on the banks of the Vaal Dam.

Of particular interest and significance to SAMSA about the IWS is the formalisation of a legal framework for cooperative governance with various other authoritative structures in both government, the private sector and civil society in terms of collective action in efforts to improve conditions of inland water spaces use by the public.

For SAMSA, according to Ms James, is the need for expansive implementation of the boating regulations provided for in the IWS- linked Merchant Shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulations 2007. In the video below, she outlines SAMSA’s perspective on the matter:

In the video below, Capt. Vernon Keller also weighed in briefly about the signiticance of the event in terms of boating and people ‘s safety on South Africa’s inland waters.