Local maritime schools draw positive global response

ICS director general drums up SA membership Terry Hutson SHIPPING IS a business that handles large amounts of money but with little regulation. As such it requires self-regulation or it will face the imposition of outside regulation in a way that may not be in the industry's best interests, says Alan Phillips, director general of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. Phillips visited Cape Town and Durban recently to examine issues facing shipping in this country while assisting local branches to raise their profile and standing. "The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), as the professional body for shipbrokers, agents and ship managers is the body to set and raise standards. It should therefore be the pinnacle of one's career to become a Fellow of the Institute, reflecting experience, knowledge and training." He said that while many issues were common among all overseas ICS branches, two stood out in South Africa. One involved the exchange rate that made the cost of purchasing the international product prohibitive, as fees were set in UK currency. "We intend looking at ways of increasing membership in South Africa to offset the value of individual fees." The second issue peculiar to this country is that of training. Phillips visited Simon's Town High School and New Forest High School in Durban, where maritime studies form a significant part of the school curricula using some of the international courses. "In this way South Africa leads the way and is also unique in having this available through the school curricula. We believe that having a more educated work force as well as a work force with greater understanding of the maritime industry will be of benefit to ourselves and the industry and that hopefully efficiencies will improve."