Eastern Cape Business 2017 edition

SPECIAL FEATURE
from the east offloading their containers destined
for destinations in the Americas rather than taking
them all the way there, for the containers to be picked
up by other ships.
The capabilities of the region’s workforce, particularly
in the automotive and automotive parts sector,
could be attractive to repairers and manufacturers
in marine sub-sectors.
Coastal research capabilities
The Phakisa strategy envisages that Technical
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges
will largely be responsible for developing skills
in the maritime sector but the Nelson Mandela
Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth is
positioning itself to play a critical role.
In June 2016 a seminar was arranged by the
Oceans Economy Secretariat, under the Department
of Environmental Affairs. With the aim of creating a
“national maritime cluster”, the event was co-hosted
by NMMU, the South Africa Maritime Safety Authority
(SAMSA), the South African International Maritime
Institute (SAIMI) and the Norwegian Embassy in
Pretoria.
Norwegian diplomats, experts and business
leaders were on hand to share their expertise in the
maritime economy, a central part of the Norwegian
experience. Sectors represented included cargo,
shipping, marine manufacturing, finance institutions,
academia, government and potential
investors.
In September 2016 the university hosted the inaugural
South African Oceans Economy Symposium.
The conference was called “Investing in blue growth
and sustainable solutions for Southern Oceans:
Lessons from Nordic countries”.
A direct spin-off from this conference was the
visit later in the year of a delegation of Finnish and
Estonian diplomats and business leaders, eager to
find out more about investment opportunities in the
Nelson Mandela Bay metro and in the Eastern Cape.
NMMU is creating a campus for Ocean Sciences
and already has several institutions and research
chairs in place. These include a unit aimed at combating
sea fisheries crime (FishFORCE, with support
from Norway) and the South African International
Maritime Institute. The university has four marine
sector chairs funded by the South African Research
Chair Initiative (SARChI) and the National Research
Foundation (NRF):
• Marine Spatial Planning (ocean zoning)
• Shallow Water Ecosystems (including rare coastal
rock pools)
• Ocean Sciences and Food Security (with
Southampton University)
• Law of the Sea (including oil resource management,
port law and marine tourism law).
Transnet’s Maritime School of Excellence offers
specialised training at four campuses across South
Africa, one of which is in Port Elizabeth. In 2016, 81
students graduated from the Eastern Cape facility
and can now be deployed to Transnet Port Terminals
or Transnet National Ports Authority facilities.
Transnet has been intensifying its training
programmes in recent years. Training is offered
in port engineering, terminal operations,
marine operations, port management and
other specialised training specific to the marine
environment, including: marine pilots, tug
masters, engineers and crane and straddle-gantry
operators.
13 EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2017