Coming up with new subject matter issue after issue is not an easy task; but this month, fortunately the South African Navy came to the rescue with an invitation to attend the inaugural Seapower Symposium for Africa held in Cape Town.

Some of the papers were incredibly interesting and I obtained permission from Professor Renfrew Christie, Dean of Research at the University of the Western Cape, to publish a shortened version of his which addresses the necessity of sea power to stave off African oil wars.

Another international problem is piracy. For landlubbers like myself, it is simply inconceivable that there are people out there who are so vicious, greedy, desperate and downright evil. The International Maritime Bureau says piracy attacks are down 30% on last year's figures though, the IMO has recorded 3870 attacks since 1984 and in July this year alone there were 29 incidents. The fact is that pirates are becoming more sophisticated in their modus operandi.

The South African ship repair industry is muddling along. There's good and bad news and some clarity on certain issues still to be achieved. Durban's industry has apparently had a good year, Cape Town's has been struggling, not helped either by the fact that the port recently lost out on a highly lucrative contract to a British company which was prepared to provide dock and services costs for nothing.

As we were about to go to print, the news came through (and we have included an account of this) of the NPA helicopter that crashed into the sea at the entrance to Richards Bay harbour. A disaster of this nature is subject to a civil aviation investigation so no cause has yet been officially attributed to it.

In conclusion, Capetonians and visitors to the city have been gawking skywards recently to spot the airship that has been floating over Table Bay. Apparently it arrived on a Dockwise ship after having been leased from the Zeppelin company in Germany for exploration purposes further north. We are told its slow speed and manoeuvrability makes it ideal for low altitude flying. Is that flashy or not!