OUR MANDATE
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) was established on the 1st April 1998 under the SAMSA Act 5 of 1998. SAMSA’s mandate includes ensuring safety of life and property at sea; preventing and combating pollution from ships in the marine environment and promoting the Republic’s maritime interests.
SAMSA has also been charged with the responsibility of executing the following:
- Administration of the Merchant shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulation, 2007, as amended (the Regulations). The Regulations extends SAMSA’s core mandate to include inland waterways (only waterways accessible to the public) within the Republic. That is to ensure boating safety on our waters.
- Implementing and executing the Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) of vessels along the South African coastline. The Long-Range vessels monitoring system assist in securing South Africa’s coastal waters in the midst of the rising lawlessness at sea, with particular reference to the worrying scourge of pirate attacks along the east coast of Africa.
OUR MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE: (Revised and reconfigured in 2017)
