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Join us as we report through 2021

‘and learn with Africa Ports & Ships’ 

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

These news reports are updated on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za

Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return  

FIRST VIEW:   SANTA URSULA

EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND HERE AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The Monday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Duncan Dock
The Tuesday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of East London West Bank
The Friday masthead shows the Port of East London
The Saturday masthead shows the Port of Durban Container Terminal by night
The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Tin Can island, Lagos

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FIRST VIEW:  SANTA URSULA

Details of the visit to Cape Town of Hamburg Süd’s Maersk-operated container ship can be found further down this page in the article by Jay Gates. The 93,025-dwt vessel is, with several of her sisters, a regular caller at Cape Town, Ngqura and Durban while operating with the South Africa Europe Container Service (SAECS).

Pictures:  ‘Dockrat’

Added 29 August 2021

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Photographs of shipping and other maritime scenes involving any of the ports of South Africa or from the rest of the African continent, together with a short description, name of ship/s, ports etc are welome.

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Suez Canal Container Terminal’s upgrade projects improve productivity

Customer experience enhanced

A series of investments initiated in 2020 aimed at equipment and capacity upgrades at the terminal, together with a strong partnership with the Government of Egypt, Suez Canal Economic Zone (SC Zone), are setting the foundation for further future growth despite global pandemic challenges.

That’s the word from SCCT (Suez Canal Container Terminal), which is a Joint Venture in which APM Terminals is the majority shareholder (55%) and operator. Other key shareholders include COSCO (20%), the Suez Canal Authority (10.3%) and the National Bank of Egypt (5%).

SCCT opened in 2004 on a 49-year concession.

The 2020 USD 60-million investment included several major projects. The most complex of these was the heightening of six STS (ship-to-shore) cranes in SCCT’s own yard. Following this recently completed project, 12 out of 18 of the terminal’s STS cranes now have the capacity to handle ultra large container vessels (ULCV). This also makes SCCT the only terminal in Egypt to be able to simultaneously serve two mega vessels, without compromising on productivity.

Improved operational performance

“Our upgrade programme was already very ambitious, but the global pandemic made it even more complex. However, it was also an opportunity for the SCCT team to rise up to the challenge. Thanks to their tremendous efforts, we are happy to report that all projects have been concluded on schedule, allowing us to serve our customers – and their businesses – even better,” says Sunay Mukerjee, Chief Commercial Officer at Suez Canal Container Terminal.

SCCT is a key hub terminal in the South and East Mediterranean region. The crane capacity upgrade project will now give the terminal’s shipping line customers additional opportunity to recover their network schedules and improve the reliability they are offering to their end customers.

In addition, the terminal has also conducted a gate expansion, with civil engineering works to increase SCCT’s gate handling capacity to more than 50,000 TEU per month. Consequently, the terminal’s gate volumes have increased 50% year-on-year, with growth in reefer exports reaching 150%. “The gate expansion project ensures our customers can continue to experience ‘best in class’ customer service while growing their volumes through SCCT,” adds Mahmoud Ayoub, SCCT’s first Egyptian Chief Operating Officer.

Other investments at SCCT also included the purchase of new yard equipment, with 16 new RTG (Rubber Tyre Gantry) cranes joining the fleet, paving the way for more quay and gate volumes in the future.

Record breaking

Capacity upgrades and other investments have already resulted in a new record, with SCCT handling 57,242 moves / 95,579 TEUs on the quay in week 33 – the highest weekly volume ever handled at the terminal. The increased volume was handled while maintaining the same gate moves per hour (GMPH) of 30.04.

“We are very proud of our achievements and at the same time, very grateful to our colleagues and customers for making this possible,” says Mahmoud Ayoub.

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WHARF TALK: Named after a Christian saint – SANTA URSULA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Sometimes finding out the origin of a vessel’s name results in an eye opener, with a “Well, I didn’t know that” moment. The great German shipping company Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft A/S & Co. KG, better known to all in the shipping fraternity as Hamburg Süd, have always named almost all of their fleet after mountains, capes or saints.

On 19th August at 12h00 the container vessel SANTA URSULA (IMO 9430387) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage from Durban, and as with just about every container ship that currently calls in at Cape Town, she had to remain out at anchor for almost a day and a half to await a berth, which is a short wait by present standards, and she entered Cape Town harbour on 20th August at 21h00, proceeding to 603 berth in the Ben Schoeman Dock.

Built in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding at Okpo in South Korea, as the eighth of ten sisterships for Hamburg Süd, Santa Ursula is 300 metres in length and has a deadweight of 93,025 tons. She is powered by a Doosan Wärtsilä-Sulzer 8RTFlex96C 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 56,010 bhp (41,184 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 22 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes four Hyundai HSJ908-10P generators providing 8,200 kW. She has a Composite Economiser exhaust gas boiler and an Aalborg Unex CHB-5000 oil fired boiler. She has a container carrying capacity of 7,114 TEU, and has reefer plug capacity for 1,365 reefers, hence the large auxiliary power requirements. When built the class were considered to be the biggest reefer vessels in the world due to their large capacity.

Owned by Hamburg Süd, Santa Ursula is operated by Maersk Line who now own Hamburg Süd, and managed by Columbus Ship Management GmbH of Hamburg, who are a Hamburg Süd subsidiary. She is operated on the Maersk Line SAECS service linking Cape Town, Durban and Ngqura with Algeciras (Spain), Thames Gateway (UK), Rotterdam (Holland) and Bremen (Germany). She departed from Cape Town on 24th August at 17h00, bound for Algeciras.

As a result of the knock on effect of unrest in KZN, Maersk announced on 4th August that Santa Ursula would omit Ngqura on the northbound leg of the current service, in order to protect the onward schedule and to maintain the Cape Town CTOC window. All cargo from Ngqura would be transferred to sistership Santa Barbara on her next SAECS call.

For the same reason, Santa Ursula had loaded all northbound containers from Santa Isabel, who had also omitted her Ngqura call on the northbound leg of her own SAECS rotation, with Santa Ursula loading the Ngqura northbound load from Santa Isabel on her, just completed, southbound leg.

On 12th August, Maersk made a further announcement that, as a result of delays in Durban, only reefer boxes would be loaded in Durban, and not standard dry containers, in order to protect Pier 1 fluidity, and to further maintain the Cape Town scheduled call. All northbound dry cargo from Durban, which was to be loaded onto Santa Ursula, would instead also be transferred to Santa Barbara on the next SAECS rotation.

As with the nomenclature of Hamburg Süd vessels, Santa Ursula is named after a Christian Romano-British saint who, along with her holy virgin followers, was murdered by Huns who were besieging the German city of Cologne (Köln) in 383 AD. For those who ever wondered, the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean were named, by Christopher Columbus, in honour of Saint Ursula and her followers.

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Kenya truckers stop transporting cargo to South Sudan following deadly ambushes

Last week Kenya truckers called a halt to transporting cargo across the Kenya/South Sudan border after two Kenyan drivers were killed after being tortured near Juba in South Sudan.

The incident occurred on Sunday 22 August when five trucks were looted and vandalised.

The Kenya Transporters Union (KTU) called on the South Sudan Government to immediately take measures to protect its drivers and trucks already in South Sudan and to make compensation for the lives and goods lost.

“Following increased lawlessness and insecurity along Juba-Nimule highway that has seen several drivers killed and trucks either burnt or vandalised, we wish to advise all transporters not to risk the lives of their drivers by continuing to offer transport services to South Sudan,” KTA chairman Newton Wang’oo said in a statement on Monday.

Following the attack the KTU began advising its more than 5,000 members to instead dump goods at the South Sudan border until the situation is attended to.

The latest ambush took place about 45 kilometres out of Juba and involved five trucks. The drivers of three managed to escape by fleeing into the bush. The attack took place early in the morning around 05h30.

This is the second occasion this year when the KTU has had to take action by suspending transport into South Sudan. In April two drivers lost their lives and their trucks were set afire. The following month three Ugandan trucks drivers were killed on the Juba-Kaya road.

The October last year, armed men kidnapped two Ugandan drivers and demanded a ransom after first killing another two on the Juba-Nimule road.

Truckers ended their boycott on the previous occasion after assurances were made by Kenyan and South Sudanese authorities. This was after a huge collection of goods was dumped at the Uganda/South Sudan border at Elegu and shops in Juba began to run out of essential goods.

The Ugandan Government has meanwhile issued a warning to its drivers against entering South Sudan.

There have been reports of motor cars being ambushed along the roads into South Sudan.

The port of Mombasa remains the main port of entry for South Sudan with that country second only to Uganda in terms of cargo volume imported.

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Grindrod’s strong headline earnings for first 6-months 2021

Grindrod’s core businesses, comprising Port & Terminals, Logistics, Bank, and Group, reported strong headline earnings of R345 million and a trading profit of R779 million for the 6-months ending 30 June 2021.

This reflects a significant improvement in core business performance compared to the six months ended 30 June 2020 as the operations recovered from the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. Port & Terminals and Logistics benefitted from the increase in mining minerals exports and other cargo flows, strong citrus season, and alternative solutions to the deep-sea shipping lines. Grindrod Bank remained conservative in lending and continued to maintain substantial capital and liquidity ratios.

Port and Terminals

The significant increase in volumes handled in Maputo Port (9.4 million tonnes, up 7%) and Grindrod’s Matola Terminal operations (3.1 million tonnes, up 18%) resulted from solid commodity demand and contingencies to supplement rail volumes with road delivery. Investment in port infrastructure and the automation of processes in the port, which will soon be complete, have contributed to efficiencies and increased capacity utilisation. Trials to load bigger vessels in Maputo Port and Grindrod’s Matola Terminal have been successful, with the focus now on optimising berth utilisation.

The outlook for these businesses remains positive as management focuses on uplifting rail allocation to Richards Bay, unlocking bottlenecks at the Mozambique border, positioning the operations to handle Private Sector Participation opportunities, and growing the current manganese solutions for our customers.

Logistics

The container feeder vessels, container depots and transport, and multi-purpose terminal businesses improved profitability due to tailored customer solutions and on the back of an excellent citrus season, strong mineral exports, and increased shipping activities. Our container feeder vessels and network of logistics solutions have provided deep-sea shipping lines with alternative solutions to alleviate challenges.

Grindrod resumed the graphite logistics operation in Nacala. Management will focus on optimising the logistics solution as volume ramps up in the second half of the year in line with global demand. The resumed graphite logistics operation in Nacala has mitigated to some extent the impact of the Liquefied Natural Gas project suspension in Cabo Delgado due to the insurgency attacks.

Driven by high iron ore prices, five of the ten locomotives which were not relocated from Sierra Leone were redeployed as the Tonkolili mine resumed activities. They will be deployed to haul iron ore from Tonkili Mine to Pepel Port. Management will continue to pursue value extraction from the rail businesses through either or both locomotive disposals and deployment.

Bank

Grindrod Bank focused on its client relationships and quality lending during the period, ensuring it retained its strong liquidity and capital position. Earnings were up on the prior period. The Bank’s lending and core deposit books increased by 9% and 23% to R8.6 billion and R10.5 billion, respectively, from December 2020. The Bank remains cautious in its lending activities. The strategic focus on platform banking has generated growth in the number of new accounts in the period. The Bank refinanced the loan notes that matured in June 2021. The bonds were oversubscribed, and the pricing on the new 3-year notes was 50 basis points better than those that matured.

Non-core businesses

The Group continues to pursue the sale of non-core assets.

“We remain committed to building logistics solutions that are most cost-effective and efficient for our customers’ cargo flow ensuring that Africa’s exports and imports reach destinations. This aligns with our purpose of making a positive difference in Africa’s trade with the world and touching the lives of the communities in which we operate,” said Andrew Waller, CEO of Grindrod Limited.    source: Grindrod

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UK driver shortage crisis: Request for 10,000 temporary visas for EU workers

On 20 August Logistics UK, a leading supply and freight group, indicated that the UK Government must prioritise the granting of 10,000 temporary work visas to encourage EU drivers to return to support the UK’s supply chain.

Exclusive analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey Q2 for Logistics UK by independent research company Repgraph has shown that 14,000 EU HGV drivers left employment in the UK in the year to June 2020, and only 600 have returned in the past year (by Q2 2021).

As Alex Veitch, General Manager of Public Policy at Logistics UK explained, their departure has left a gaping hole in the workforce which needs a short-term solution to protect the UK economy.

He commented: “The EU workers who left the UK in the year ending June 2020, ahead of Brexit, were critical to the supply chain’s resilience, and we are now starting to see the impact that their departure has had on supplies to businesses, retailers, homes and schools.

“The industry is working hard to recruit new drivers, with the implementation of new apprenticeships and other training schemes, and working with DVSA to speed up its testing regime, but these measures will take some time to produce new drivers.

“Our industry needs drivers now, and we are urging government to replicate its temporary visa scheme, introduced for agricultural workers, for logistics to keep trucks and vans moving in the short term.”

It is understood that the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme has permitted up to 30,000 individuals to come to the UK on a so-called T5 visa to work in agriculture for up to six months, and Logistics UK is pressing government to replicate the scheme for logistics workers.

Currently, eight different short term work visa schemes are in place, for example for creative, sports and religious employees, as well as seasonal workers. None of these can be used for HGV drivers.

Veitch continued: “Logistics is facing a long term shortage of staff, which has been made much worse by the loss of our EU workforce. While we wait for new recruits to complete their training, which can take up to nine months, the logical solution would be to introduce a temporary visa scheme to keep the vehicles moving. After all, there is no point in picking and packing food if there is no one available to move it to buyers.”

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods.

With Covid-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc.

Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.

 

 

 

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Specialist heavylift vessel – BBC EMERALD

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

There have been a fair few specialist heavylift vessels calling into South African ports over the past few months, and up to now they have all been calling to deliver project cargoes to South African clients. Sometimes, the call is more mundane, and nothing to do with delivering, or loading, heavylift cargo, but rather to simply take on bunkers and stores, whilst en-route to somewhere else.

On 23rd August at 09h00 the heavylift vessel BBC EMERALD (IMO 9504750) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage for a short 12 hour stay, before entering Cape Town harbour at 21h00 that evening and going direct to the Eastern Mole in the Duncan Dock, ostensibly for bunkers. She had arrived from Norfolk, Virginia, in the USA.

Built in 2013 by Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilders at Ruichang in China, as one of a class of thirteen sisterships, BBC Emerald is 153 metres in length with a deadweight of 14,371 tons. She is powered by a single STX MAN-B&W 6S46MC-C8 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 10,540 bhp (8,280 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller to give her a service speed of 16 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes a single Zhenjiang-MAN 8L23/30H generator providing 1,280 kW, two Zhenjiang-MAN 6L23/30H generators providing 960 kW each, and a Zhenjiang-MAN D2876-LE201 emergency generator providing 330 kW. She has one EGH-850V40-DF exhaust gas powered boiler, and one TOH-1000H40-W oil fired boiler.

As a heavylift vessel, BBC Emerald is equipped with two 400 ton NMF cranes, which can provide a tandem 800 ton lift, and a single NMF 80 ton crane. She has two holds, with a capacity of 19,680 m3, and her container carrying capacity is 958 TEU, with 28 reefer plugs fitted.

Owned and managed by W. Bockstiegel Reederei GmbH of Emden, in Germany, BBC Emerald is operated by Briese Heavylift GmbH of Leer, also in Germany, under whose funnel colours she sails. She is deployed in the pool of heavylift specialists BBC Chartering and Logistics GmbH, also of Leer, which is a subsidiary of Briese Schiffahrt GmbH of Leer.

Shortly after arrival, the bunker tanker Al Safa came alongside BBC Emerald and the transfer of bunkers began. Interestingly, on the morning of the 24th August, in addition to the bunker tanker, a large road tanker also came alongside BBC Emerald and began a transfer of more bunkers.

The carriage of dangerous goods by road in South Africa is governed under the Road Traffic Act, and other supporting Standards. The road tanker alongside BBC Emerald displayed the international dangerous goods signage as required by the act, and was displaying a Class 3 flammable Liquid diamond, and a UN dangerous goods placard number of 1268.

The United Nations Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods has listed over 2,000 items that constitute dangerous goods. All of them receive a simple four digit number to easily identify them, which is known as a UN number. The content of the tanker was identified by its placarded UN number of 1268, which is ‘Petroleum Distillates (not otherwise specified)’. In the USA it is known as Petroleum Naphtha, which is a desulphurised, reformed, hydrocarbon.

It is quite likely that the contents of the tanker was Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil (LSMGO), which is a fuel suitable for use with four stroke generators, of which BBC Emerald is equipped with a total of four MAN generator units.

With no apparent heavylift cargo visible on deck, her stop at Cape Town was for no other reason than to take on bunkers, and not to discharge any project heavylift cargo in Cape Town.

On completion of her bunkering operation at the Eastern Mole, BBC Emerald sailed from the port on 24th August at 14h00, bound for the large iron ore terminal of Port Hedland, in Western Australia.

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Coast Guard cooperation: USCG and JCG deploy together

It has been announced that US Coast Guard staff in the Alameda-based Coast Guard Cutter Munro participated in a cooperative two-day deployment with the Japan Coast Guard in the Japan Coast Guard vessel ASO in the East China Sea on 24 and 25 August.

This engagement followed Munro’s port visit in Sasebo, Japan, from 20 to 24 August and included: crew exchanges; two-ship communication, formation, manoeuvring and navigation exercises; joint and cooperative maritime presence; maritime law enforcement training and exercises; and several variations of large ship and small boat operations.

Captain Blake Novak, CO of Munro commented on this cooperation with: “These at-sea engagements with one of our longest-standing partners in the Indo-Pacific region provided excellent opportunities for our crews to train together and learn from each other, further strengthening our alliances and maritime partnerships.

“Conducting operations and exercises leverages our strong and trusted relationships while expanding our regional security cooperation initiatives and bolstering collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.”

The US and Japan Coast Guards have a long history of cooperation and several recent engagements. In June 2021, the sea services conducted search and rescue training together in Honolulu before teaming up to search for a missing free diver off Kauai, Hawaii.

Earlier this year, the US Coast Guard Cutter KIMBALL and Japan Coast Guard Ship AKITSUSHIMA conducted drills together near Japan’s Ogasawara Islands working with helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to practice interdicting simulated foreign vessels operating illegally inside Japanese waters.

Vice Admiral Michael F McAllister, Commander US Coast Guard Pacific Area reflected: “Partnering with like-minded maritime forces to cross train and expand multi-nation expertise in search and rescue, maritime environmental protection and maritime law enforcement allows our nations to promote regional stability, confront malign activities and threats, and uphold the international rules-based-order underpinning our shared security and prosperity.”

MUNRO, a 127-metre loa national security cutter, departed its homeport of Alameda, California, for a month-long deployment to the Western Pacific. Operating under the tactical control of US Seventh Fleet, the cutter and ship’s company are engaging in cooperative maritime activities, professional exchanges, and capacity-building exercises with partner nations and will patrol and conduct operations as directed.

As both a federal law enforcement agency and an armed force, the US Coast Guard routinely deploys worldwide its cutters, boats, aircraft and deployable specialised forces.

The US Naval Service does not compete, deter, or fight alone. The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard team are an integral part of the Joint Force and work closely with allies, partners, and other government agencies.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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Women’s Month 2021: What the Maritime Industry Can Do to Attract More Women to The Sector

There are not enough women occupying key positions in the maritime sector to bring about meaningful transformation, Candice Mkasi, the Head of Human Resources at Sandock Austral Shipyards (SAS), the Durban based shipbuilding and repair company believes.

As an executive at one of the biggest shipyards in Africa, Mkasi is at the forefront of driving transformational change at SAS and is passionate about more women rising through the ranks in the maritime sector.

Speaking in the context of Women’s Month, Mkasi said that there were many opportunities for gender transformation in the maritime sector.

“We do not see enough women occupying key roles within this space, and it is our duty as a key player in the shipbuilding and ship repair space to create opportunities for young women to claim their place in our industry,” she said.

Mkasi said that at SAS, the company ensures that transformation occurs within the industry by employing three key strategies:

-Ensuring that there is a representation of women across all job levels within the organisation. SAS prides itself in having strong women in key decision-making roles within the organisation, and this is seen in the company’s Management Committee.

-Skills Development; SAS is proud of the development initiatives and the many opportunities it has provided to young women in the organisation to further their studies.

-Attracting Young Talent – SAS has a vibrant Apprentice Training Programme, that has ensured that it attracts young women into what was previously a male-dominated space.

While strides are being made within SAS to transform the gender imbalance in the maritime workforce, Mkasi believes there is still a long way to go for true gender representation, especially in the Engineering and Project areas which she believes do not have enough female workers.

She believes that the under-representation of women in these areas can be rectified through offering bursaries to pursue engineering studies, giving young women an opportunity to gain on the job training with mentors, which would benefit them to one day occupy jobs in this space.

“We at SAS are working hard behind the scenes to explore avenues of change and to put respective programmes in place to ensure future talent needs are met through the empowerment of young women,” Mkasi said.

She says that part of the reason why women have not risen through the ranks of the maritime sector quickly enough, is historical, as the sector was male-dominated and there were limited opportunities available to coach and mentor women into key strategic roles.

She points to the fact that SAS is leading the charge in women empowerment – the company is 67% black women-owned – and as a business for the greater good, SAS has made coaching a minimum key performance area for each business unit head, to ensure that identified successors for key positions within the organisation are prepared for their future roles.

She however also believes that the government has a role to play in attracting women to the maritime industry.

“Government can definitely provide incentives to the industry to encourage more skills development opportunities, especially for young women. The industry at large must start looking at the attraction, retention and development, as an investment towards their contribution to transforming the maritime industry,” she said.

“But first, the industry must start at the schools which has a huge pool of untapped female resources. My greatest hope is to one day have the ability to reach as many young girls as possible and show them the many opportunities we have in our sector.

“The first step would be to look at high schools that offer maritime studies as a subject. I was fortunate in that I was exposed to maritime studies in my early teens and discovered a wider spectrum of career choices available. The advice I would impart to the girl child is to read up more on our industry, the SAS website as a foundation, engage in career exhibitions, and to ask questions. And remember that you are enough,” Mkasi said.

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Women’s Month 2021:  Captain Eezmaira Sazzea binti Shaharuzzaman:
Eaglestar’s first Malaysian female ship master

Eaglestar Marine Holdings (L) Pte. Ltd. (Eaglestar) announced in mid-August the appointment of Captain Eezmaira Sazzea binti Shaharuzzaman as the company’s first Malaysian female ship Master.

Captain Eezmaira Sazzea was among the first group of Malaysian women selected to pursue professional maritime training in Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM, also known as the Malaysian Maritime Academy) when the academy first opened its door to female cadets’ intake back in 2006. She graduated from ALAM in 2011 with a Diploma in Nautical Studies and has been sailing as an Eaglestar officer for the past ten years.

Her maiden voyage as a ship master began on 13 August this year as she took over the command of SERI BIJAKSANA, a 153,000 bm LNG carrier.

Expressing her pride, Captain Eezmaira Sazzea views this appointment as a recognition of her capability and professionalism. “I am very grateful and honoured to be the first Malaysian female Master Mariner in Eaglestar and it will certainly be an exciting journey for me in this new role. I hope that this will inspire my fellow women seafarers, to strive for greater accomplishments as we continue to add value to the global maritime industry.”

Captain Peter Liew, Managing Director & CEO of Eaglestar added: “We are incredibly proud to have appointed Captain Eezmaira Sazzea as our first-ever female Captain for Malaysia. Eaglestar believes in fostering a dynamic and inclusive workplace for all our employees at sea and shore, and this includes providing equal opportunities and empowering our female seafarers to rise together with the workforce and realise their fullest potential. We look forward to her future successes in leading her crew in the years ahead and we hope that this accomplishment will pave the way for more female seafarers to follow in her footsteps.”

With her latest appointment, Captain Eezmaira Sazzea is now part of an exclusive global community of female seafarers who are currently making waves as ship masters commanding merchant vessels of various types across the world.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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Women’s Month 2021: Women warming up to maritime logistics sector

There is a gradual increase of women in the maritime logistic sector, says Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), where about 1,308 more women joined TPT in the last six years alone. Predominantly a male – dominated industry, the rise in women engineers, artisans and operators places the representation of women at 31% of the total employee population, which is currently at 9,735.

“The first intake of women at Transnet Port Terminals was actually in 1995 and even then, it was a handful. We now have 2,972 women employees and female representation in TPT Executive Structure is 44%,” said General Manager of People Management at TPT Caroline Mayeza.

She added that it was important for the new generation of women to take up opportunities in the type of industries and sectors previously appealing to men. “We have passed the age of ring-fencing softer positions for women because women have proven competent enough to land positions across business disciplines and trades based on acquired skills and merit – and despite presenting challenges, they have performed exceptionally,” Mayeza said.

With a cumulative spend of R263 million on women development programs only over the same six-year period, TPT has been implementing seven development initiatives including two with international immersion. According to Mayeza, this is to ensure that there is a pipeline of women leaders in the business across technical, operations, support functions and leadership.

“Our latest initiative launched at our Women’s Month celebration event last week, is the Women Advancement Forum which facilitates the progression of women from one level to another across different occupations. It will also focus on the personal upliftment of women,” she said.

The overall TPT target for women representation is 35%, a figure that Mayeza believes will ensure the success of the transformational agenda.

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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

More News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.”  – Herbert Bayard Swope

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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.

In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.

You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by  CLICKING HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.

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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES

QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.

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For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za

Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za

 

TABLE BAY UNDERWAY SHIPPING SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA snai@worldonline.co.za http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai