Photo by: Andrew Millard
The first merchant vessel to be registered under the South African flag since 1985 arrived in Saldanha Bay this week to transport 170 000 t of iron-ore from mining giant Anglo American company Kumba Iron Ore’s Sishen mine, in Kathu, in the Northern Cape, to China.
The Cape Orchid, a 300-m-long, Japanese-built bulk carrier was owned by South African operator Vuka Marine, a joint venture between South Africa’s Via Maritime Holdings and Japan’s K-Line.
The vessel was registered in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Vuka Marine currently had two South African-flagged, cape-size vessels – the Cape Orchid and the Cape Enterprise.
While in Saldanha Bay, the Cape Orchid would take on several South African cadets, who would sail with the ship for six months as part of their officer-training programme.
Vuka Marine chairperson Andrew Mthembu noted that it was important for South Africa to attract ships onto its register to improve job creation and training prospects for South African seafarers. The country experienced a decline in its merchant fleet since the mid-1990s.
Meanwhile, South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) CEO commander Tsietsi Mokhele congratulated Vuka Marine for being the first local company to register ships in South Africa in recent times. He added that the country’s status as a maritime nation had been undermined by its lack of a merchant fleet.
As such, Samsa had prioritised a programme of action to reverse this trend through initiatives, such as government’s Operation Phakisa, which sought to attract ships onto the national register as a key aspect of achieving job growth and economic development in the country’s oceans economy.
Mokhele noted that about 95% of South Africa’s international trade moved through the country's ports, adding that buying exclusively from foreign shipowners and seafarers, where this could be done competitively by local operators, was creating an economic cost in South Africa.
Kumba CEO and Anglo American South Africa deputy chairperson Norman Mbazima said the companies were proud to witness this historic moment for South Africa, and that they could be the Cape Orchid’s first customer.
“Vuka Marine has achieved a key milestone for this country and we look forward to a strong partnership as it is through partnerships of this nature that [we are able to] support job creation and the growth of South Africa’s economy,” he added.