There are considerable opportunities for South Africa’s maritime industry to capitalise on; however, it is critical that a concerted effort be undertaken by all stakeholders to ensure that the issues facing the sector are addressed and circumvented, speakers said during a question and answer session hosted by industry organisation the Maritime Business Chamber on February 9.

Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (Wista) board member Nomcebo Msibi said one of the issues that needed to be dealt with was for ports to be more effective and efficient. Current obstacles include infrastructure, technology, safety and security and competing corridors.

She emphasised that the country’s maritime industry needed to find its speciality, that is, decide whether it wanted to be a port country, or a sea ferrying country; and, that it must be cognisant of its competitors whichever space it chose to enter.

Shipping group Vuka Marine director Andrew Millard emphasised that the country must reclaim its status as prominent international maritime player, especially in terms of international shipping, which he says it has allowed to slip away.

He highlighted considerable opportunities between now and 2030, and indicated government and industry must work together to align interests and implement a globally competitive environment to enable this.

Millard also acknowledged the country’s strength in seafarers, who he said would form the cornerstone of the maritime industry’s growth.

He called for targeted interventions to start preparing the field for these to operate competitively and be deployed globally and to become meaningful presences in the global maritime space.

While he said his outlook for the maritime industry was ultimately positive, he did note some frustration around a lack of progress, with measures identified last year still not having been implemented. Therefore, he called for decisive action.

Skills and knowledge promoter the South African International Maritime Institute CEO Odwa Mtati emphasised the need for the sector to be publicised continuously, given that it was a nascent one and was competing with other sectors in the country.

He expressed hope that the Oceans Masterplan, which was under development, would help gather all the industry’s processes into one voice and a collaborative agenda.

Independent maritime consultancy Elekhom Group chairperson Commander Tsietsi Mokhele reiterated the need to streamline the sector, moving it away from its current fragmentation.

In this regard, he commended efforts such as Operation Phakisa, which facilitated maritime becoming a single sector, which could then assist in demonstrating the impact that it had on the entire economy.

He emphasised the need for the sector to be an important contributor to the country’s economy and for the sector to develop performance metrics that were linked to the national economy, enabling it to become more relevant.

Mokhele also highlighted the need for skills training to be approached coherently, as its contribution now was incorrectly being measured as very small, when it was actually contributing to a number of sector education and training authorities.