Foreign cargo ships "not contributing to SA wealth creation", Mokhele
South Africa's maritime sector was under the spotlight yesterday as hundreds of delegates attending the SA Maritime Industry Conference (Samic) in Cape Town discussed oil and gas, shipping and ports, marine tourism and leisure, marine manufacturing, repairs and maintenance and fishing, The New Age reports.
"Serious discussions were needed to capacitate the industry, as well as put pressure on the government to put systems in place to assist with growth of the industry," South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) CEO, Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, said, adding that the performance of ports regarding prices, reliability and speed of cargo handling are "crucial" to the competitiveness of the coastal countries, according to The New Age.
Unfortunately, he said, all the ships carrying cargo in and out of South Africa are foreign-registered and foreign-crewed. 240 000 seafarers are employed, of which less than 1% is South African, The New Age says.
Read the full article on www.thenewage.co.za
