Two prominent port people in Durban have died in the past week. On Thursday, September 20, Captain Robert Zanders, former principal officer with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), died from the effects of motor neuron disease. He immigrated to South Africa from the Netherlands and served with Unicorn Lines as a ship’s master before joining the Department of Transport maritime division in the 1980s where he was appointed principal officer in Durban. He later played a role in the transformation of the DoT maritime division into what has become Samsa. He was a very private person who never married and who was highly respected and liked by his colleagues and associates. Because he preferred to stay out of the limelight many people never got to know about his philanthropic activities, in particular helping underprivileged children receive an education.
