Local crews make practical job-creation sense

More than 86 000 people could find employment RAY SMUTS DEPENDENCY ON foreign ships to convey goods to the market is “strategically unwise” for any trading nation, the 9th National Maritime Conference heard in Cape Town last week. Robert Knutzen, director of Cape Town-based Marine Crew Services, says it is realistic for South Africa to aim at creating 25 000 jobs in the maritime industry which would result in a major boost for the economy. What is more, the challenge will be for all South African cargo owners to ensure the country becomes a leading supplier of seafarers, he said. “We think it is realistic to have as a target the creation of 25 000 seafaring jobs, or 10% of the total number of seafarers in our trade. This is more conservative than the Maritime Charter which has as one of its aims that 25.1% of South African cargo should be carried on South African-flag vessels by 2014.” Knutzen says if the Charter’s aim is achieved and the South Africa-flag vessels employ South African crews as envisaged, this will amount to about 86 000 jobs, with monthly wages of R774 million. Knutzen says South Africa currently exports 130 million tonnes of raw materials, mostly coal and iron ore, imports 20 million tonnes of oil and imports and exports about four million containers each year, “yet the shipment of the vast majority of these materials is arranged and controlled by foreign buyers or foreign sellers and South Africans derive very little benefit from these trades. “Control of cargo means control of vessels which in turn means control of the labour on the vessels because it is not necessary to own a vessel in order to control it.”