Women advancement in SA’s maritime sector on a giant historical leap: SAMSA

South Africa’s first all female cadets and training officers team before sailing out in Cape Town on 27 December 2019 for a three months research and training sojourn into the Indian and Southern Oceans including Antarctica.

Cape Town: 30 December 2019

Women empowerment in South Africa’s maritime sector took on yet another relatively small but highly significant and historical step forward at the weekend in Cape Town after the country despatched an all women cadet and training officers’ team on a three months voyage to the southern seas.

The 22 women- two officers and 20 young female cadets sailed from the port of Cape Town on Friday night, headed for Mauritius where they will be joined in 10 days by a group of Indian scientists for their three months sojourn into the Indian Ocean and Antartica region.

The 20 all female deck and engine cadets in full uniform on board the SA Agulhas a few hours before their historical training sojourn which will end in March 2020

According to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) – owners and operators of the SA Agulhas, the country’s only dedicated cadet training vessel – and the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) – the country’s agency for cadet training – the latest of three such training opportunities for the country’s cadets out sea was partly made possible by the out hiring of the SA Agulhas ship to the Indian National Centre for Antarctic Ocean Research (ICAOR).

The SA Agulhas at the port of Cape Town. Owned and operated by the SA Maritime Safety Authority, the ship is South Africa’s only dedicated national cadet training vessel.

Scientists from the ICAOR will be conducting research of the Indian and Southern Oceans waters over a period of two months through to the end of February 2020. During this period, the all female 18 deck and two engine cadets will receive extensive training and earn crucial sea time to advance them through their studies as future mariners.

SAMSA and SAIMI described the send off of an all female cadet team and all female training officers in Cape Town at the weekend as the first ever such adventure, deliberately aimed at advancing gender parity in the maritime sector through focused advancement of woman.

From Left: Mr Ian Calvert, executive head of SAMSA’s Marine Special Services with the master of the SA Agulhas, Captain Reagan Paul in Cape Town on Friday 27 December 2019

Two of the 20 cadets will likely qualify for the Officer of the Watch exam after earning sufficient sea time during this voyage. For several of the cadets, this voyage will be the first time away from home and will be their first ever training opportunity at sea.

SAMSA Acting CEO Mr Sobantu Tilayi emphasized the importance of this particular voyage; “It is important that we use every opportunity we get to open up the maritime industry to all and this voyage is proof that South Africa is on-board with the international drive to empower women and is committed to do away with the notion that the maritime industry is a male dominated industry” said Mr Tilayi.

Mr Ian Calvert, executive head of SAMSA’s Marine Special Services, who was on hand to see off the all female training crew said: “Addressing poverty, unemployment and inequality is the responsibility of all South Africans. Further to this, gender parity in the workspace remains of great concern.

“Today, women signify two percent of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers with 94 percent of female seafarers working in the cruise ship industry. There can be no doubt this is a historically male dominated industry, subsequently there needs to be a concerted effort to help the industry move forward and support women to achieve a representation that is in keeping with 21st century expectations.”

According to Mr Calvert, the historical event send off at the weekend, was not just a uniquely South African initiative that was out of sink with the rest of the world, but a significant contribution to global efforts championed currently by international agencies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Maritie Organisation (IMO).

True to a call: (From Left) Ms Cher Klen and Ms Samantha Montes, the SA Agulhas training officers for the 2019-2020 historical all female cadet training voyage that began on Friday 27 December 2019

He said: “Through its Women in Maritime programme, under the slogan: “Training-Visibility-Recognition”, the IMO has taken a strategic approach towards enhancing the contribution of women as key maritime stakeholders. In spite of this, the benefits of these and other initiatives still need to be fully felt in (South) Africa.

“For this particular voyage as a show of our continued commitment to the achievement of gender equality we have specifically dedicated it to the exposure of women in maritime,” said Mr Calvert

Further, he said, the initiative was in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, the African Integrated Maritime Strategy, National Development Plan, Operation Phakisa as well as the Comprehensive Maritime Transport Policy.

“It is an attempt to address gender empowerment and inequalities specifically in South Africa, in the year that the IMO declared The World Maritime Day theme as “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community”.

For Mr Calvert’s remarks on the topic, click on video below.

SA Agulhas Antarctica Voyage 2019: First All Female Training Venture

This blog also chatted with some of the youg female cadets as well as the master of the vessel on this voyage, Captain Reagan Paul, to gain their views and expectations of experience during the next three motnhs. The young cadets, Ms Lona Jiba (Eastern Cape), Ms Puleng Ramasodi and Thabango Ngobeni (both from Gauteng), and Ms Sinethemba Mdlalose (KwaZulu-Natal) were beyond themselves with joy at their first sea voyage and particularly on board the SA Agulhas on its journey to the ice mountains of the Antarctica region.

The blog also heard from one of the onboard training officers, Ms Samantha Montes who’s stated other interest during the voyage would be an observation of the implementation of the Polar Code.

For this and more click on the videos below.

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No matric pass without swimming: Transport Minister

School children on board the SA Agulhas while docked in Port Elizabeth recently. (SAMSA File Photo)

Pretoria: 11 March 2019

Rapid transformation and development of South Africa’s maritime economic sector will require several interventions among which must be a comprehensive education, training and skills programme to equip particularly youth with the requisite knowledge that will ensure meaningful inclusion and participation.

According to Transport Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande this may include school going children in particularly coastal areas of the country being required to learn how to swim as part of their basic education.

South Africa’s coastline covers a length of some 3 200km along which four provinces; KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and Northern Cape are settled, from the Indian Ocean in the east, Southern Ocean in the south through to the Atlantic Ocean in the west.

Minister of Transport: Dr Blade Nzimande

Swimming as a possible compulsory subject for South African schools was among a raft of projects proposals mentioned and discussed at the recent maritime transport sector inaugural dialogue held in Durban.

In his closing remarks of the gathering, Dr Nzimande said the seriousness of the proposal for swimming to be a compulsory school activity was such that it might become a necessary competency that is a condition to exiting high school.

“I cannot commit to the idea until it has been canvassed with the relevant departments including the Minister of Basic Education. But I think it’s a good idea that we should not allow any child to complete matric without also learning to swim.,” he said.

Jokingly he said that of all sports codes in the country, swimming was the only sports the majority of South Africans – precisely black people – did not really care about its transformation because, he said: “They are afraid of water.” This had to change, he said, in order to broaden and deepen transformation of the maritime transport sector.

Among other issues the maritime transport sector could look forward to in 2019 would be the launch of an Inland Waterways Strategy following to its approval by government recently.

For Dr Nzimande’s full remarks, click on the video below.

Meanwhile, a Maritime Transport Sector Declaration developed and adopted by delegates to the Department of Transport convened two-days meeting in Durban has been released and shared with delegates this past week.

To access and download the document, click on the link below:

2019 DECLARATION – MARITIME TRANSPORT INDUSTRY DIALOGUE

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Mpumalanga Province all out to mark World Maritime Day 2018.

Celebrating World Maritime Day 2018 on Day 1 of the two day event being held at Baadplaas in Mpumalanga Province on Thursday and Friday this week is one of several pupils from local schools who brought their self-built replicas of vessels to the show.

Baadplaas: 27 September 2018

Maritime economies around the world turn their focus momentarily onto the sector globally this week to observe the annual celebration of the World Maritime Day held in the last week of September each year as set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and South Africa joins the activity over two days in Badplaas, Mpumalanga on Thursday and Friday.

Domestically, organized and driven by the national Department of Transport, the World Maritime Day 2018 event in Mpumalanga Province that begun on Thursday morning is the second such to be to held in one of South Africa’s five internal provinces in last few years.

The purpose thereof, according to the DoT, is to continue to enhance greater public awareness countrywide about the country’s maritime status and its significance and contribution to socio economic development.

Transport Department Deputy Minister, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga

“Every year, the IMO observes and celebrates the World Maritime Day (WMD). This event usually takes place during the last week of September each year. It is an IMO event that serves to promote awareness and maximize participation of all maritime transport stakeholders in order to promote safe, secure and environmentally sound seas.

“For the year 2018, the IMO Council and Assembly adopted the theme: “IMO 70: Our Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future”. This theme provides the opportunity to take stock and look back, but also to look forward, addressing current and future challenges for maritime sector.

“In 2016 World Maritime Day was celebrated in the Free State Province and saw participation from the two adjoining provinces of Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. Notably so it was a celebration within the perimeters of the Gariep Dam.

A unique looking cultural centre in Baadplaas located near the venue of this year’s celebration of the World Maritime Day 2018 in Mpumalanga

“In 2017, the event was celebrated at a coastal town of Port St Johns which was in part celebrating the centenary of OR Tambo. This year, Mpumalanga is hosting the 2018 celebration at Baadplaas Forever Resort,” said the DoT

For a full statement by DoT Deputy Minister Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, click on the three minute video below:

Dozens of pupils from local schools in Baadplaas attending Thursday’s Day 1 national celebration of the World Maritime Day 2018 in Mpumalanga Province

According to the DoT, this year’s event will be used to profile the World Maritime Day celebration and in the process, raise general public awareness about the maritime sector, particularly the inland communities, raise awareness of the contribution of the maritime sector to the socio-economic lives of South Africans and enhance awareness among particularly school learners from previously disadvantaged communities in the province of Mpumalanga and throughout the country about the career opportunities available in the maritime sector.

Countering what the department describes as a general lack of awareness and ignorance about the maritime sector and which makes it difficult for the public and the media to have interests in the industry, this year’s celebration will focus among other things on South Africa a coastal and a port state, the country’s vision for its maritime sector, its global positioning as a well trusted partner with the IMO and a strategic and trusted partner in the fight against piracy.

Information will also be shared about South Africa preparations to host the 2020 World Maritime Day Parallel Event, the first to be hosted in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Friday’s event will see several senior national and provincial government officials, inclusive of the Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga, senior management of the South African Maritime Safety Authority and others converge Baadplaas Report for the official function starting 9am through to 2.30pm

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Skills development still a key priority for SA maritime economic sector: SAMSA

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Head Office. Pretoria.

Pretoria: 10 September 2018

Talent nurturing as part of a broad based skills development strategy for South Africa’s economy, but particularly the country’s maritime economic sector, remains a top priority according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).

The remarks by SAMSA Chief Operations Officer, Mr Sobantu Tilayi came at the weekend as the government agency hosted a send-off event for one of its employees, Mr Siphosenkosi Mthembu who jetted off on Saturday to Malmo, Sweden for a two-year academic study at the World Maritime University.

Mr Mthembu will be pursuing a Master’s level course of study in Shipping and Logistics, supported by both the Transport Education Training Authority (TETA) and SAMSA.

SPREADING WINGS: (From Left) Mr Sobantu Tilayi, Chief Operations Officer, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) congratulating the agency employee, Mr Siphosenkosi Mthembu who jetted off to Sweden at the weekend to begin his year and half Master’s level maritime studies at the World Maritime University.

Mr Mthembu embarks on the academic study in Europe having spent close on six (6) years as an employee of SAMSA in its certification unit, a service record that began in 2013 shortly after he’d completed his junior degree in maritime studies at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), following to which he also acquired a post graduate degree in maritime studies through the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

SAMSA’s support of Mr Mthembu includes his retention as an employee of the organization on his return in a year and a half from 2018.

IMG-20180907-WA0000 — Mr Sipho Mthembu (Centre back with blue jacket) with family and colleagues at SAMSA during a send-off gathering on Thursday last week at SAMSA Head Office, Pretoria to wish him ‘bon voyage’ to the World Maritime University in Sweden where he will spend the next two years.

Speaking shortly after an event on Thursday last week to bid Mr Mthembu farewell, and which was attended by some of his family members, Mr Tilayi said that while South Africa’s economy currently was being battered on all sides by indicators that clearly reflected that not all was well, it was not time to fold arms and prepare for better times.

The drive towards improvement of education and skills development and placement of especially talented South African through institutions of learning, in the country and abroad, should not slow down but speed up

“We are very tight on skills particularly in the maritime economic sector and it is initiatives of this nature that we want to support as SAMSA. It is people like Sipho who’ve demonstrated talent that we want to lend all the support we can.”

For Mr Tilayi’s full remarks, click on the three minutes video below.

For his part, Mr Mthembu was ecstatic for having gained the opportunity and support to further his maritime education studies particularly at an international institution dedicated to education and training in the sector. He will be joining the ranks of several other South Africans who have studied at World Maritime University since the programme was initiated by SAMSA jointly with other partners about four years.

For a brief chat with Mr Mthembu click on the three minutes video below.

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