A group of 30 future ships’ officers spent the festive season in the South Atlantic Ocean during their four-month training voyage on board South Africa’s dedicated training vessel, the SA Agulhas I.
The students come from as far north as the Limpopo province.
“I saw my first ship in 2013,” says engineering cadet Clemence Phahle from Limpopo.
He studied mechanical engineering at the Tshwane University of Technology where he heard about the opportunities in the maritime industry.
Closer to the Agulhas’s home port is cadet Queenie Kakane, who was first introduced to the prospects of a career at sea while attending Simon’s Town High School, which in 1995 was the first school in South Africa to introduce a maritime studies department.
The South African Maritime Training Academy (Samtra) and Marine Crew Services (MCS) provide the training for cadets in the national cadet programme.
Under the programme the cadets will attend around 32 hours of lectures a week on board, in addition to project and practical work.
The Agulhas is fitted with a simulator so exercises can be conducted without interfering with the operations of the vessel.
The cadet programme is managed by the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) and funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training through the National Skills Fund.
“Thanks to the partnership with the Indian government we are able to provide cadets with training berths, which are in great demand,” says Prof Malek Pourzanjani, SAIMI chief executive officer.
