fishing vessels’ safety – The 10th Province

GOING ON RETIREMENT: Captain Nigel Campbell (centre with box) being big farewell by senior SAMSA management (From Left) Company Secretary Mr Lolo Raphadu, Corporate Affairs acting head Ms Nthabiseng Tema and Chief Operations Officer, Mr Sobantu Tilayi

Port Elizabeth: 14 September 2018

Veteran South African Master Mariner and an accomplished global shipping and fishing vessels and labour safety guru, Captain Nigel Campbell of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) formally went into retirement on Friday, the organization announced in Port Elizabeth.

Capt Campbell who turned 65 years old in September 2018, retired on Friday after 47 years in the country’s maritime sector, primarily as a mariner, then a ship’s surveyor before becoming an administrator for 16 of his 19 years of service at SAMSA – the latter which he joined in 1999, just as year after the agency was established.

Captain Nigel Campbell (65), Deputy Chief Operations Officer at SAMSA, retires.

At the time of his retirement, he had risen to the position of Deputy Chief Operations Officer but with yet full responsibility for general management of shipping anf fishing vessels matters as pertaining to SAMSA’s sphere of regulation.

Shipping regulation particularly from a safety perspective was an area of his specialization to the extent that he become SAMSA and the country’s constant representative at international meetings involving the London based International Maritime Organization (IMO) as well as at the International Labour Organization (ILO).

According to SAMSA, it was both Capt Campbell’s passion for especially fishing vessels safety and fishermen’s welfare globally that he not only pioneered by also led both the IMO and ILO in development of regulation management of these aspects through instruments including the IMO’s Cape Town Agreement and ILO’s Convention 188, the latter which was officially implemented first in South Africa at the end of 2017.

Captain Nigel Campbell with his with wife of 37 years, Mrs Mandi Campbell during Wednesday’s formal send-off function held in Port Elizabeth.

Speaking at a send-off function held at the Little Walmer Golf Club in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday afternoon, SAMSA Chief Operations Officer, Mr Sobantu Tilayi described Capt Campbell as a doyen of the country’s maritime sector vessels’ safety regulation whose dedication and strength of character saw him achieve far more than could be reasonably expected, both locally and internationally.

Mr Sobantu Tilayi, SAMSA COO, making farewell notes on Capt Nigel Campbell’s ‘Happy Retirement’ card during Wednesday’s sendoff function held at the Little Walmer Golf Club in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday afternoon

He described him as not only one of the most ‘incorruptable individuals’ in his area of operations but also an industry acknowledged strict disciplinarian who would be satisfied only with high degrees of efficiency.

Mr Tilayi also confirmed that while Capt Campbell officially retires, he will remain in touch with SAMSA and industry on a consultancy basis from November 2018.

For his part, Capt Campbell said: “It was an illustrious career which I enjoyed very much.” He thanked SAMSA for opportunities it had given him and wished the agency well into the future as it celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018.

For Mr Sobantu’s full remarks in his reflection on Capt Campbell’s service record and character (4-minutes), as well as Captain Campbell’s and three other’s farewell remarks (3-minutes) click on the video below.

The ILO also weighed on in on Capt Campbell’s official retirement, describing him as a major contributor to oceans transport labour safety regulation.

In a video message shared at Capt Campbell’s send off function, Mr Brandt Wagner, ILO’s head of maritime transport policy sectoral unit, said: “Capt Campbell has a long history of working with the ILO on maritime issues. Some of the highlights of his work is that Nigel served as the chairperson of the Committee of the Fishing Sector at the 96th Session of the international labour conference in 2007 which adopted the Work In Fishing Convention 188.

“It was, to a great extent, due to his leadership that key problems were sorted out, and that the conference was not only able to adopt the Convention, but do so with overwhelming positive votes.

“Nigel chaired the tripartite experts meeting to adopt the guidelines on Flag State Inspections under the maritime labour convention in Geneva in 2008. He also chaired the ILO meetings that adopted Flag and Port State Guidelines based on Convention 188, and also the Global Dialogue Forum on the promotion of that convention..

“But besides chairing everything in sight, largely because he got things done, he helped the ILO with many other events around the world,” he said.

For Mr Wagner’s full remarks (three minutes) click on the video below.