SA's ship-owning objectives 'misguided'

In its drive to develop SA’s own shipping fleet, government may be somewhat missing the boat, according to Peter Lamb, an associate in Norton Rose’s admiralty and shipping practice in Durban. He was referring to minister of transport Ben Martins’ comments on the draft SA Maritime Transport Policy – in which the overriding objective of the department is to move from the current situation of having no ships on the SA register, to developing the country into one of the world’s top 35 maritime nations. “We raise the question of why we would look to attract ships onto our register, especially since we are not traditionally a ship-owning nation. The few ship-owning companies that were started in SA have moved their head offices to Antwerp and Singapore. “Our view on this is, if SA aims to raise its maritime profile and encourage employment in the maritime transport sector, it needs to take a much broader view of the sector. It must realise that we already have a position of strength as a cargo supplier and other shiprelated services.” The SA ship’s register, he added, does not mean employment. Lamb told FTW that SA had rather liberal labour laws – supporting workers, but “not business-friendly”. “With SA’s potential sailors having to compete with those of countries like the Philippines and Sri Lanka, with their lax labour laws, the best thing we could do would be to comply with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standards.” Promoting the landbased side of the maritime sector is another way for SA to create employment opportunities. Said Lamb: “The Policy identifies a number of employment opportunities related to shipping, such as ship and cargo agents, forwarding and clearing agencies, marine insurance, stevedores, and ship repair. “Most of these are not dependent on whether a ship is flagged under an SA or foreign flag.” He also suggested that, if local industry players were encouraged to sell on a cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis, opportunities for employment in the land based maritime sector would be created. “For too long,” Lamb added, “SA has stuck to free on board (FOB) shipping – sticking to the historical status quo. But going CIF would, for example, generate more business and employment opportunities within the local insurance broking and underwriting sectors – and we’ve already got the skills in marine insurance in SA.” Another industry that is a good example of how government could promote marine business is the ship repair and bunker supply industries, according to Lamb. “The government seems to be looking at ship repair more now. But SA should be making a concerted drive to develop the industry – especially with all the oil and gas exploration in East and West Africa. “All the benefits of registering ships in SA can equally well be gained in marineassociated landside industries.” INSERT ‘All the benefits of registering ships in SA can equally well be gained in marineassociated landside industries.’