SAMSA on a deep dive to determine South African seafarers training conditions.

National survey launched on Wednesday to determine both training needs and availability of berths

Pretoria: 16 April 2021

The resumption of formal training of South African seafarers which was and continue to be severely negatively impacted largely by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic since a year ago, is set to go full steam ahead this year, subject to further determination of both training needs as well as berths available.

That is according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) which on Wednesday launched a national survey targeting South African seafarers across the board including the fishing subsector, training institutions, seafarer recruitment agencies and employers.

The step is the second of its nature this year following to the announcement recently of a further seafarers’ certificates validity extension given South African seafarers whose time limited qualifications might have expired, in order to renew them.

The four months certificate validity extension through to 31 July 2021, was given to the maritime industry in the form of a Marine Notice No.10 of 2021 published on the SAMSA website on 31 March 2021.

The further extension granted was, according to the Marine Notice, in consideration that Certificates of Competency (COC) and/or Certificates of Proficiency (COP) issued in accordance with the International Convention of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, were generally valid for a period of five (5) years from the date of issue.

However, with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic having disrupted virtually all aspects of life, SAMSA said in consideration of the predicament many seafarers and their employers were finding themselves in, it had decided to again grant an extension until 31 July 2021 to any certificate that might expire during the national lockdown and/or shortly thereafter.

In Pretoria on Wednesday, SAMSA announced the launch of the follow-up survey. SAMSA Chief Examiner, Mr Azwimmbavhi Nelwamondo said it would run until 23 April 2021, with its intention being to gather as much information as possible about the training and associated conditions currently affecting the targeted groups.

Mr Azwimmbavhi Nelwamondo. Chief Examiner: SAMSA

Mr Nelwamondo explained: “Since the pandemic hit South Africa, the government enforced a national lockdown which affected training of seafarers. SAMSA has tried to find the balance between safety of seafarers on all vessels and their safety whilst undergoing training.

“Further to balancing the safety aspects onboard ships and during training, a further balance must be found to ensure continuity of the training which has direct impact on the safety of individuals, ships, property and the marine environment,” he said.

Mr Nelwamondo further indicated that one of the challenges already acknowledged as an impediment to continued training of the country’s seafarers was an apparent scarcity of training berths.

“SAMSA has received information that there are not sufficient training berths for all seafarers with certain sub-sectors of the industry and they were therefore requesting an extension further than the dates set in the Marine Notice.

“With this survey, SAMSA thus wishes to establish, from the training providers – considering the pandemic – the status of availability of training berths ever since training resumed in the second half of 2020.

For his full remarks, click on audio below.

The voice of Mr Azwimmbavhi Nelwamondo explaining broadly the purpose of the seafarers training needs and challenges survey.

The SAMSA survey on South African training of seafarers is the second such seafarer survey currently underway – the other, conducted by University of KwaZulu-Natal and backed by SAMSA focused on the general welfare of seafarers particularly since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in December 2019.

The two surveys can both be easily accessed through the SAMSA website via this link: http://www.samsa.org.za/Pages/default.aspx or Click Here

Once on the page, seafarers, employers, recruitment agencies as well as seafarer training institutions can click on the survey links provided on the page.

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SA Agulhas heads back to Antarctica with scientists and 20 new cadets on board: SAMSA

Pretoria: 22 November 2017

The SA Agulhas, South Africa’s dedicated cadet training vessel will be heading back to the Antarctica region on Friday, on yet another scientific research and cadet training expedition scheduled to last about three months, the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) announced on Wednesday

According to SAMSA in a statement in Cape Town, on board the vessel will be a group of Indian scientists to conduct studies of parts of the Indian and Southern Oceans, and in their company, a group of new South African cadets under the Port Elizabeth based South Africa International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), drawn from the Cape Peninsula and Durban Universities of Technology (CPUT and DUT) to undergo seafarer training during the expedition.

The expedition beginning with the SA Agulhas setting sail from Cape Town on Friday, will be the second of its kind in the past 14 months involving the combination of a scientific study and the training of South African cadets.

The last one occurred between December 2016 and March 2017.

According to SAMSA on Wednesday: “The vessel will transverse through the Indian ocean with its first stop in Mauritius, to collect the scientists, and then head south to Antarctica to spend three months on a research mission. For the 20 cadets, recruited for various on board technical functions, this will be their maiden voyage.

“The SA Agulhas is expected to reach Antarctica in four weeks. The cadets, aged between 20-27 years old, fresh from their academic studies from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Durban University of Technology comprise a corps of 19 deck cadets and one engine cadet. Twelve are males and eight are females,” said SAMSA

Management of the training of the cadets has according to SAMSA, again been entrusted The South African Maritime Training Academy (SAMTRA) which will work jointly with two deck training officers, Captain Merwyn Pieters and Steven Paulse, who are both experienced in the operation of the vessel and repeat travelers of scientific expedition route undertaken a year.

IMG_6360 (2) — Mr Sobantu Tilayo. COO South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA)

Remarking about the expedition, SAMSA COO Mr Sobantu Tilayi said: “As SAMSA we are proud to be part of this endeavor to train young people and expose them to new opportunities. We are confident that the cadets chosen possess the steely determination and focus to survive in the Antarctic.

“The knowledge acquired from this cold journey will benefit South Africa’s fast growing maritime sector and the entire world.

“It is through such initiatives that we aim to fight the plague of unemployment, create awareness about our oceans and help contribute towards our oceans economy,” said Mr Tilayi.

Captain Pieters, an experienced seaman with almost 46 years under his belt working on various vessels, said the cadets were enthusiastic and keen.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for these young people – a trip like this would normally cost over $50 000, and they are being afforded this opportunity to learn under some of the most trying conditions. Between the other training officer and I we are honored to pass on our expertise and knowledge.

“It takes guts of steel to be away from your family and loved ones. For this group, this journey is new to them, and it would come with many new experiences, including building team spirit,” said Capt Pieters.

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SA Agulhas, South Africa’s dedicated cadet training vessel enthralls crowds at EL port festival

Pretoria: 29 June 2017

The SA Agulhas, South Africa’s only dedicated cadet training vessel, yet again became one of the star attractions at this year’s East London port festival, this barely three months after it had become a major drawcard in another of Transnet’s 2017 Eastern Cape ports festivals held in Port Elizabeth.

In Port Elizabeth at the end of March, the vessel had just returned from a three months research and training expedition with a group of Indian scientists who’d taken it, along with about 30 South African cadets, to Antarctica.

So it had been in international news headlines leading up to the first of the two port festivals, with thousands of local people in the Port Elizabeth region keen to get on board and view it.

DSCN1483 — The SA Agulhas, South Africa’s dedicated cadet training vessel docked at the port of East London this past weekend while partaking in the Transnet National Ports Authority East London port festival

In East London this past weekend, as it turned out, the public curiosity seemed to not have waned at all as thousands of revelers – estimated at about 23 000 – thronged the vessel during the three day event.

The SA Agulhas, owned by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and now utilised by the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) based at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, is the country’s only dedicated vessel for the development of seafarers since about six years ago.

DSCN1473 — Port festival goers at the port of East London milling around on board the SA Agulhas over two days this past weekend.

It was brought into the service to address in part, the shortage of berths highly necessary for students at universities keen on completing their seafarer training through practical work on vessels at sea.

Since coming into service for the purpose, the vessel has since seen hundreds of young people, male and female, from South Africa and other African countries being taken through the processes that has seen many acquire the practical and work experience necessary to enhance their skills as seafarers.

For East London last weekend, the port festival was returning to the Eastern Cape’s second biggest port city for the first time in five years and according to organizers, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and partners, the intention was to give public exposure and enhance greater interaction between the public and the country’s ports infrastructure and facilities.

Phyllis Difeto, TNPA Chief Operating Officer, said the festival had an underlying strategic focus involving maritime sector related programmes such as the national Operation Phakisa (Ocean Economy) initiative that seeks to drive economic development, job creation and skills development

DSCN1467 — Festival goers at the past weekend’s port of East London port festival being taken briefed in small groups on the nature and function of the SA Agulhas as a dedicated cadet training vessel.

“We want to promote awareness of the ports, recreational opportunities, and career and business opportunities offered by the maritime industry. We want our communities to experience the unique operations in the port, and its exciting people-centred vision,” she said.

Other attractions of the port festival over two days included an SA Navy frigate – the SAS Spioenkop, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ (DAFF) rnvironmental offshore patrol vessel, the Victoria Mxege, an arts & crafts market and a wide variety of food stalls, a maritime exhibition including career opportunities, tug rides and family ferry rides, extreme bungee (50m freefall) thrills, helicopter flips and beer garden with live bands.

For more on the TNPA’s port of East London festival, Click Here

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SA’s dedicated cadet training vessel, SA Agulhas; sails yet again deep into the Antarctica for research and training

BREAKING RECORD: The SA Agulhas, South Africa's dedicated cadet training vessel under the command of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in the icy Prydz Bay approaching the southern sea line with the Antartica region on Monday. The vessel is on a scientific cruise and training expedition between Mauritius and Antartica — BREAKING RECORD: The SA Agulhas, South Africa’s dedicated cadet training vessel under the command of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in the icy Prydz Bay approaching the southern sea line with the Antarctica region on Monday. The vessel is on a scientific cruise and training expedition between Mauritius and Antarctica since December 2016.

Pretoria: 01 February 2017

The SA Agulhas, South Africa’s only dedicated cadet training vessel under command of the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) has clocked yet another milestone after reaching its half-way point on Monday in a research survey expedition to the ice cordoned southern seas of the Antarctica, a journey that began just before Christmas last year.

Excited officials on board the vessel, among them a group of scientists from India and about 30 South African youths on cadet training, beamed back home a series of photographs of their half-way point journey, indicating the smooth track of the research expedition since about a month ago.

The SA Agulhas left Cape Town 48 days ago on Wednesday (December 14, 2016), headed for Port Louis in Mauritius where she took on board a group of Indian scientists that are part of the research expedition before she headed south towards the Antarctica – precisely the 68th parallel, a circle of latitude that crosses the southern ocean and Antarctica.

In the area and along the route, she’d carry out survey work expected to take a few weeks into later this month. On Monday this week, she reached the halfway point from which she will then turn around and head back to Mauritius.

Officers on board beamed the first photographs of the research and training vessel’s encounter with the icy conditions of the region. At the time of the encounter with icy conditions, according to Roland Shortt, Operations Manager/DPA for Maritime Special Projects at SAMSA Cape Town office, the vessel was located in Prydz Bay.

It is the research and dedicated training vessel’s first long journey on otherwise familiar territory around the Antarctica in more than two years – an intervening period she’d been devoted strictly to cadet training and skills development by SAMSA while occasionally anchoring at Quay 500 at the port of Cape Town.

The cadet programme she is still engaged in is now managed by newly established South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) based at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, situated in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, and funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training through the National Skills Fund.

agulhas-dec-2016-22 — The group of South African seafarer trainees (23 deck and 7 engine cadets) on board the SA Agulhas on its current Antarctica research and training expedition.

As it were, on departure in December, the vessel had as part of its crew on board as many as 30 cadets in two groups; 23 Deck and seven (7) Engine cadets under the command of Master Mariner Captain D. Postman, Chief Engineer, D Jennings, assisted by Senior Deck Training Officer, Merwyn Pieters and Deck Training Officer, S. Paulse.

According to the South African Maritime Training Academy (SAMTRA) charged along with Marine Crew Services) with management of the training, since sailing off from Cape Town to Mauritius and from Mauritius to the Antarctic region, the cadets in their respective groups – the Deck cadets split into groups of four (4) for rotation every seven (7) days – have been involved in extensive training arranged in four week cycles.

SAMTRA says the seafarer skills development initiative on board the SA Agulhas, in both lecturer format and practical engagement, encompasses Seamanship, Navigation, Bridge Watch and Deck Maintenance, complimented by a range of practical activities intended to both familiarize them in real time with a vessel design and mechanics through to its management under a variety of sea conditions.

The cadets will have four months of intensive hands-on and theoretical training while on board, required to clock up to about 32 hours of lectures a week on board, in addition to project and practical work, according Mr Pieters. This will be achieved due partly to the fact that none of the training is obstructive on board the vessel as the SA Agulhas features a world class simulator enabling exercises to be conducted without interfering with the operations of the vessel.

According to SAMTRA, those who successfully complete the fast-track training programme on board will need to complete another 20 months on board trading vessels before they can sit for their oral exams to complete their qualification, the Certificate of Competency (CoC) issued by SAMSA in terms of the international convention on Standards on Training, Certification and Watch-Keeping (STCW).

The research and training expedition is expected to be completed mid-way through February, with the SA Agulhas expected due back at Port Louis on about February 26, and back in Cape Town sometime midway through March.

On receiving the news Tuesday of the SA Agulhas having reached its half-way point on the journey by entering the Antarctica ice passage, SAMSA acting CEO, Mr Sobantu Tilayi shared a congratulatory message with all the organization’s personnel involved with arrangements of the expedition applauding them for their contributions.
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