From the editor . . .

My New Year's resolution is to encourage communication. While overseas shipping and maritime related companies seem to have no problem overloading my email inbox, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Southern African maritime industry.
Switched-on journos follow closely what is happening in the news but we cannot be everywhere and we rely heavily on being notified about events that would be of interest to our readers. One such occasion was the inauguration of the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Cape Town just as this journal went to press. Somebody in the Department of Transport, or its sidekick who coordinated the event, forgot to invite some of the trade press. Needless to say we are collectively very unimpressed.
There has also been no coverage of a November meeting of shipping experts from 19 southern African countries who gathered in Johannesburg for the 5th Annual Committee of the West and Central African Abuja MOU on port state control agreement. The meeting was hosted by SAMSA under the auspices of the National Department of Transport. Looming deadlines and short notice dictated that I could not attend the opening ceremony so I turned to the Internet in the hope that I might be able to find out what had been said in the interests of imparting news to the maritime industry about safety and security matters relevant to merchant shipping in our region.
Not surprising there was nothing to be found on any of the local or international maritime websites. If the Minister delivered a speech it is certainly not posted on the Department of Transport's website. And as for SAMSA's website, under construction for many, many months it seems … I'll say no more, but you get the drift!
The point is that the information should have been in the public domain the very same day because technology allows it.

With 2006 now behind us, the question is what's in store for the maritime industry during 2007? Internationally one item high on the agenda is protection of the environment. While the main focus of the IMO has until recently been on more visible sources of pollution such as oil spills, this has now changed and it is recognising the harmful effects of ships' exhaust gases. This has prompted a review of the regulations to prevent air pollution from ships and follows on work that has been done on the prevention of air pollution from shipping activities since the late 1980s. See page 5.
Locally, persistent rumours that the SA Navy is losing skilled staff in droves, was addressed by the Chief of the Navy, Vice Admiral Rufiloe Mudimo, on a radio talk show. He says "it is not the Navy saying it is losing staff"…"there has never been a retrenchment programme"…and that the SA Navy has entered into partnerships with maritime related industries which have absorbed those people who have not had long term contracts renewed. He also reiterated this message in a letter to a daily newspaper.Western Cape ports seem to be making some progress towards gearing up to meet the demands of the oil and gas industry. With this in mind remember to note in your diaries two up and coming conferences and exhibitions. The first is the African Refiners Association conference to be held in Cape Town, and the other is the 5th Intermodal Africa 2007 conference to be held in Durban. Both take place in March, details of which you will find in this journal.

In conclusion, and in the interests of improving communication, please add my details trachandler@telkomsa.net to your distribution lists, let me know about issues you believe would be of interest to the maritime community, and feel free to send me photos and caption stories. Your interest is appreciated.

Editor

Cover Stor

Spotted in Saldanha Bay loading up iron ore during December was the largest bulk carrier cargo ship in the world, the MS Berge Stahl. Weighing in at a massive 364,768 dwt, the Capesize carrier has impressive dimensions: she is 343m long, 65m wide and sits 23m deep in the water.
Her top speed of 13.5 knots and she has a nine metre high rudder. Built in 1986 `by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Berge Stahl is owned by Bergesen d.y. ASA, a Norwegian shipping company.