Tag: Fisheries and Environment

Gaps of calmer weather a welcome respite for salvage of grounded vessel on South Africa’s west coast: SAMSA

Pretoria: 16 July 2024

SALVAGE WORK ON COURSE: The grounded Panama-flagged general cargo vessel, the Ultra Galaxy, on its side, showing the breach of its cargo holds due to battering by huge wages driven by a cold front that swept the Western Cape province of South Africa in the past week. (Photo: SAMSA)

Pockets of calmer weather off South Africa’s west coast have injected much needed impetus to salvage work of the grounded Panama-flagged general cargo ship, the MV Ultra Galaxy, now lying on its side, beached, on a remote location of the Atlantic Ocean, northwest of Cape Town; the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) reported on Tuesday.

According to SAMSA, top priority is the extraction and relocation of the vessel’s fuel and oils on board to prevent possible environmental polution at sea and the adjacent land area.

In a statement issued Tuesday following a meeting of the incident management team, SAMSA further confirmed that during the recent extreme weather experienced throughout the whole of last week and during which the vessel ran aground, the ship’s hatch covers were eventually dislodged and detached, leaving the cargo holds vulnerable. Consequently, a significant portion of the ship’s fertilizer cargo was swept away by the sea.

With welcome calmer weather, a helicopter could be used since the weekend to conduct inspection of the vessel (Photo: SAMSA)

In the wake of this development, two distinct warnings have since been issued to – on the one hand – vessels traversing the ocean in the area, and on the other hand, the general public, for all to be on the lookout for debris and other flotsam that may either be still at sea, or washed ashore by currents and winds.

SAMSA said: “Salvage work on the grounded Panama-flagged cargo ship, MV Ultra Galaxy, continued over the weekend. The vessel ran aground on the evening of Tuesday, the 9th of July 2024, off the coast of Duiwegat, just south of Brand se Baai on the West Coast.

“The ship was abandoned by her crew of 18 Filipino seafarers after developing an excessive list. The crew is now safely back in the Philippines.

“In light of the recent extreme weather, the ship’s hatch covers were dislodged and detached from the vessel, leaving the cargo holds vulnerable. Consequently, a significant portion of the ship’s fertilizer cargo was swept away by the sea.

“While some hatch covers have been retrieved, a navigation alert has been issued for ships in the vicinity. Current efforts are focused on removing the fertilizer bags that are washing up on the shoreline. It is expected that most of the fertilizer in the individual cargo bags would have dissolved and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) is implementing an environmental monitoring program.

“The search for flotsam and other debris from the ship will be expanding over the next few days, as the salvage crew tries to utilize the good weather between cold fronts.”

Photos of cargo hold steel hatch covers found strewn across a beach near where the Ultra Galaxy went aground on the west of South Africa last Tuesday evening, with salvage personnel on site to collect away both these, debris and other flotsom being found in the area. (Photos: SAMSA)

According to SAMSA, with the drift pattern expected to be in a southerly direction, members of the public on the West Coast south of Brand se Baai to St Helena Bay were being requested to look out for any debris that may wash up on the beach.

This includes items such as cargo bags, steel hatch covers, and other flotsam, and which should all be reported to SAMSA through the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre (MRCC) at 021 938 3300 or 012 938 3303.

SAMSA made a special appeal to the public to not collect or attempt to remove any items found by themselves but to rather alert officials through the contact details provided.

Said SAMSA: “Members of the public are also requested not to attempt to salvage any debris themselves. It is important to properly dispose of any debris safely in order to minimize harm to people and the environment.

Meanwhile, according to SAMSA, salvage teams and divers had started with sealing the fuel tanks to prevent any oil from spilling into the ocean. “They are also investigating the structural integrity of the vessel to plan a way forward to secure and safely remove the oil and wreck from the area.

“At this stage of the operation, the vessel poses no new environmental threats, however all efforts are being made to monitor the situation and put preventative measures in place. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) remains on standby, ready to respond should an oil spill occur, and seabirds become affected,” said SAMSA.

The Panama-registered MV Ultra Galaxy (previously known as Thor Galaxy and Thorco Galaxy) is a 124.56-meter-long general cargo vessel built in 2008. At the time of its distress call early on Monday a week ago, she was on her way to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Further public updates would be shared as they become available, said SAMSA.

End

South Africa’s Department of Employment & Labour joins forces with SAMSA and others to bolster sound working conditions for the country’s commercial fishing sector workers – with forced labour an immediate target.

Gqeberha: 14 April 2024

South Africa may be acknowledged globally as being among leading maritime countries with advanced standards for sound labour working conditions in its commercial fishing subsector, but the country is not about to let up.

Instead, armed with a basket of laws, regulations, and international conventions; moves are foot to strengthen its work on the regulation and maintenance of sound labour working conditions for the country’s commercial fishing sector, now undertaken jointly through enhanced coordination, consolidation and collaboration involving three key state departments.

These include the Department of Transport (DoT) through the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment and – for the first time – the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) as well as the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), the latter responsible for seafarers training.

This emerged this past week in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape province, where 30 officials from the various state departments, inclusive of SAMSA and SAIMI, were taken through a three-day capacity building course on detection of forced labour on board fishing vessels, conducted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The ILO is a sister United Nations (UN) organisation to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

It was during this gathering at the Nelson Mandela University’s Ocean Sciences Campus – from 09-11 April 2024 – where it was divulged for the first time that South Africa’s DEL is in the process of finalising and signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SAMSA to facilitate the active ongoing engagement of DEL officials in labour related matters in the country’s commercial fishing subsector, inclusive of vessels inspections.

The MOU between DEL and SAMSA, it emerged, is intended to both facilitate the harmonious regulation of labour working conditions under a set of DEL’s basket of labour legislation – such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Labour Relations Act and related – with those provided for by the Merchant Shipping Act administered by SAMSA, as well as to bolster the number of inspectors.

According to both SAMSA and DEL officials present at the training workshop in Gqeberha, the MoU is due to be signed soon.

The officials from the respective entities included SAMSA Chief Operations Officer, Mr Sobantu Tilayi, and DEL’s Director for Advocacy and Stakeholder Relations in the Inspections and Enforcement Directorate, Dr Pravine Naidoo, in the company of DFFE’s Deputy Director in the Chief Directorate for Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, Ms Delricia Augustus, and ILO South Africa based officials, Mr Simphiwe Mabhele and Ms Resh Mehta.

On the three-day course for the 30 government officials on detection of forced labour on commercial fishing vessels, all the officials held the same opinion that this was an acute problem even in South Africa, although evidence remained largely anecdotal.

However, reliance on anecdotal evidence should come to and end before year-end as the ILO in South Africa is currently conducting a thorough study of the country’s commercial fishing sector to establish some baseline information on both its size as well as activities.

According to the ILO, the fishing sector globally has a high prevalence of forced labour, with an estimated 128,000 fishers trapped in forced labour at any given time. ​

Apparently, key contributing factors to the malaise of rights violations in the fisheries sector involve the combination of weaknesses in the labour inspection regime, poor working conditions, and overlapping legislation, sometimes leading also to labour exploitation involving non-payment of wages, excessive working hours, and inadequate safety measures. ​

South Africa ratified the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. ​ 188), which sets international labour standards for fishing vessels and fishers and was among the first countries globally to implement it. ​

The ILO’s Capacity Building Programme aims to strengthen the capacity of the South African government, SAMSA, DFFE, and DEL inspectors to detect and identify forced labour on fishing vessels. ​

The training components included sessions on international labour standards, identification of forced labour indicators, links between illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and forced labour, inspection protocols, and the collection of evidence. ​

The 30 officials attending the ILO course were taken through various aspects of both international and domestic law, and current best practices in forced labour detection. Presentations by subject experts in the field included:

  • South Africa’s national legislations applicable to fishing sector labour
  • Forced labour identification tools and inspection protocols,
  • Links between forced labour, human trafficking, and human smuggling in the fishing sector
  • Non-government allies in forced labour identification
  • Communicable and non-communicable diseases on board fishing vessels
  • The piloting of the South African Stardard Operating Procedures (SOP) and referral mechanism

With the course underway at NMU, this blog took advantage of the presence of the various officials and conducted a series of interviews with each of available officials present at the Ocean Sciences Campus.

In addition to his opening remarks of the training workshop (video below) we chatted with Mr Tilayi from SAMSA (last video below) for insights into both the significance of the soon to be entered into MOU with the DEL as well as ongoing training of SAMSA surveyors involved in the commercial fishing subsector. For his views, please click on last video below.

An opening address by Mr Sobantu Tilayi. SAMSA COO

DFFE’s Ms Delricia Augustus (video below) elaborated on the role of the department and its necessary collaboration with SAMSA, the DEL and others on the proper regulation of the fishing sector with respect to sound working conditions of labour.

Dr Pravine Naidoo of the DEL (video below) spoke at length about why it mattered that the department strengthens its presence and activities in the country’s commercial fishing, sector as well as on expectations of outcomes of its formalised close collaboration with SAMSA, alongside the DFFE.

Next up were the two ILO officials, Mr Mabhele and Ms Mehta, (respective videos below) wherein highlights included an overview of the ILO’s relations with South Africa on maritime sector conventions, specifically the Working in Fishing Convention, 2007 (C.188) and subsequent conventions, ongoing engagements inclusive of continued training of inspectorate officials, as well as the research currently underway in the country’s commercial fishing sector, and due for publication in September this year.

End.