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Mr E H Msolomba, Director of Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission
Mr J O Mkinga, Ports Specialist, Southern Africa Transport and Communications Commission
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is indeed an honour for me as the South African Minister of Transport to be given this opportunity to welcome you all to this 3rd meeting of the SATCC Maritime and Inland Waterways Committee Meeting held here in Durban. It is also an honour for me to have been invited to officiate on this occasion and to be able to address you on some matters affecting maritime transport in Southern Africa and more particularly, the SADC Maritime States. South Africa is also very thankful to SATCC for having given her an opportunity to host this event.

Before I proceed with my speech, I would like to extend, on behalf of the government of South Africa, our deepest condolences to the government of Mozambique for the untold misery and loss of lives caused by the recent floods. Our hearts goes to the people of Mozambique, as their loss during these unfortunate recurring incidents is not only a loss to them but to the region as a whole. I therefore invite all of you to join me in observing a moment of silence as a token of solidarity (1 minute of silence). Thank you.

We are indeed fortunate as the SADC Maritime States of the Southern African continent, to be blessed with countries that are rich in cultural heritage, scenic beauty, agricultural potential, mineral wealth and strategic location. This combination of inherent wealth and natural attributes, makes our region extremely attractive, not only as a tourist destination, but as a region that offers huge economic potential and benefit for all its inhabitants as well as foreign investors.

Regional co-operation, however, remains the priority in order to achieve sustainable economic growth in southern Africa. The Maritime States all share a common boundary, namely the sea. It is this common denominator that should be fully and effectively utilised. However, for this potential to be unleashed it is essential that the maritime and inland transport arteries of our region, as well as the supporting elements of legislation, infrastructure and ecological considerations, are carefully orchestrated and freed of all unwanted and unnecessary encumbrances.

Added to this, it is essential that our region is able to make headway within a stable economic and political environment which is vital for the regions growth. I am, however, hopeful that this will be within our capabilities in the foreseeable future, given our collective determination to ensure the completion of the objectives of the SADC Protocol and other goals that we have set for ourselves, both as individual states, as well as collectively.

From a South African perspective we are, I believe, becoming increasingly aware of our maritime imperatives and challenges that will need to be addressed if our maritime industry is to survive into the new millennium. We are particularly conscious of the fact that 95% of our imports and exports reach or leave our shores by sea, hence the need for us to maintain the highest possible standards of ports efficiency, maritime training of seafarers (including shore based personnel), maritime legislation, safety standards at sea and ashore, environmental control and the provision of an effective search and rescue service to the vessels that sail to and from our ports and along our coastlines.

To this end, South Africa continues to make good progress in the maintenance of ship safety standards on local as well as foreign vessels. Over the past year, 700 ships calling at South Africa's ports were targeted for Port State Control inspections at our seven major ports. Vessels not in compliance with international safety standards and norms were detained and fined when necessary.

This concerted action is undoubtedly acting as a deterrent to ship owners operating substandard or unseaworthy vessels from using South African ports. Nevertheless, there are still unscrupulous operators who continue to flaunt safety regulations and the need to remain vigilant remains a necessity.

The Indian Memorandum of Understanding for Port State Control is therefore, going to play a vital role in the eradication of sub-standard ships from our Indian Ocean waters. The efficiency of this system will be greatly improved once a database and information office of ship information is established by early 2003.

No doubt, the West and Central African Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control will also have a beneficial effect on the region once it is properly established. I have mentioned these two Port State Control initiatives specifically to illustrate the importance of safety information co-ordination and dissemination within our region and beyond.

Still remaining with the important aspect of safety of lives at sea, I would like to stress the need for regional co-ordination and co-operation in respect of maritime search and rescue. As long as there are ships at sea, accidents will remain unlikely events with the resultant loss of lives. We therefore cannot afford to neglect our international responsibilities in this regard.

Consequently, I would respectfully suggest that it is incumbent on all SADC states with maritime borders to ensure that they are trained and prepared to assist within their capabilities, no matter how modest. I was therefore pleased to be apprised of the meeting of the joint working group on SAR co-ordination that was held in Maputo recently to address this important issue of regional search and rescue co-ordination.

I wish the participants in this initiative every success in the interests of regional co-ordination and saving lives at sea. I am also actively encouraging the conclusion of maritime search and rescue bilateral agreements with all SADC states and other foreign countries bordering on South Africa's extensive search and rescue area.

I am also pleased to say that South Africa has also contributed significantly to search and rescue in the southern oceans with the establishment of a Cospas-Sarsat linked local user terminal (LUT) in Cape Town. The initial trials have been successfully completed and it will be fully operational as from April 2001. South Africa has also been accepted as a member of the Cospas-Sarsat programme as a ground segment provider with effect from 1 November 2000.

Fishing vessel safety has always been of great concern to my maritime safety authority and to me personally. In recent times we have had a high casualty rate in terms of loss of life at sea and have, therefore, commenced with an initiative to actively address the matter. The approach we have adopted is to involve the fishing industry and those that work in it to identify the problems and to seek solutions to them.

This initiative culminated in a large and very successful seminar on fishing vessel safety being held with the industry in cape town on 2 March 2001. I would be glad to share the information obtained from this conference with anyone who is interested in our findings on the subject matter.

Marine pollution of the sea by oil is of great concern, not only to all of us in the region, but particularly to South Africa, as it is probably the most susceptible to this type of incident, given the highly active nature of the sea around our southern coast line in the winter months.

The "Treasure" incident was a case in point when the 143 000 ton bulk carrier sank on 23 June 2000 in Table Bay spilling approximately 900 tonnes of fuel oil which caused major pollution of the coast line and considerable damage to marine life. Fortunately, excellent inter-departmental reaction and co-ordination as well as effective co-operation of concerned NGOs alleviated the damage.

I therefore hope that you will seriously consider South Africa's proposed position paper on the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee's far reaching amendments of the Marpol Convention to phase out single hull tankers, which will be tabled at your meeting. The MEPC committee meets in London in April 2001. It is my view that a regional approach to this problem would be advisable.

Thank you

Contact: Mike Mabasa at 083 680 7048

Issued by: Ministry of Transport, 12 March 2001