The Maritime Economy

Half-a-billion rand has been spent to make Saldanha ready for investment.

When the maritime sector takes off, the graduates of the Lawhill Maritime Centre in Simon’s Town are going to be well placed to pick and choose their career path.

With South Africa intensely focused on properly exploiting the Oceans Economy, something that has lain dormant for a long time, the fact that the Lawhill Maritime Centre won another international award in 2018 has some significance. The most recent award for the centre, which trains pupils from grade 10 to grade 12, is the Seatrade Africa, Middle East and India Education and Training Award, which was handed over in Dubai in October 2018.

Subjects offered at the centre include nautical sciences, maritime economics and electronic navigation systems. The school is funded by a variety of companies (such as Safmarine Container Lines, Grindrod and SMIT Amandla Marine), state organisations (Transnet National Ports Authority and the South African Maritime Safety Authority) and private foundations. Educational commentator Jonathan Jansen wrote in the The Times that the centre “reminds us what our country can still become – without any direct state funding”.

The state is directly funding several other projects. Operation Phakisa is an initiative of the South African government to fast-track parts of the National Development Plan (NDP). The focus is on delivery and results, with strict timelines. “Phakisa” means “hurry up” in Sotho. One of the focus areas within Phakisa is the Oceans Economy programme.

The Oceans Economy is no longer just a concept talked about at conferences, it is a reality that is starting to have an impact on South Africa with other training organisations such as the South

The harbour at East London is South Africa’s only river port. All of the country’s major ports are run by Transnet National Ports Authority.

African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) setting up in Port Elizabeth and the university in that town creating a specialist campus devoted to maritime affairs.

South Africa has 3 000km of coastline and the extent of the country’s territorial waters is greater than its land size. And yet the country does not have a merchant marine fleet and only scrapes the surface in terms of the percentage of repair and maintenance of boats and oil rigs which could potentially bring work to its ports. South Africa currently accounts for 1% of the global market of ship repair and refurbishment.

According to Operation Phakisa documents, the untapped potential that passes South Africa’s coast is immense. This includes: • South Africa does maintenance on only 5% of the 13 000 vessels that use SA ports. • South Africa is currently servicing four of the 80 rigs that are estimated to be in range of

Cape Town. • Vessels carry 1.2-million tons of liquid fuel around

South Africa. • Foreign vessels ship 300-million tons of cargo in and out of South African ports.

The coast controlled by South Africa and adjacent waters have possible resources of oil that could supply the country’s needs for 40 years, and natural gas that could supply the country’s needs for 375 years. This has the potential to lead to production of 370 000 barrels per day, but this will need significant investment.

The Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT) reports that in 2016 the oil, gas and marine sector supported 8 320 jobs and contributed R1-billion the province’s gross value add.

The marine transport committee of the South African Oil and Gas Alliance (SAOGA) is trying to prepare South Africa to reap the potential of the sector. It has developed 18 initiatives across three categories: infrastructure and operations, skills and market growth.

In 2018 De Beers Marine announced that it had awarded a contract to ELB Engineering Services for the drying system for the MV Grand Banks life extension project. The alluvial diamond concentrate exploration vessel will undergo a major upgrade in the Port of Cape Town.

Saldanha Bay

The West Coast region, including the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), has attracted 34 investors who have signed Memorandums of Understanding. Considerable planning has gone into positioning the SBIDZ as a hub for a range of maritime repair activities and oil rig maintenance and repair.

The National Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and DEDAT have collectively invested R500-million in core infrastructure at the Saldanha Bay IDZ and a lease agreement has been signed with Transnet National Ports Authority.

The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone has formally been in existence since 2013 and it has ambitious plans to tap further into the burgeoning oil rig maintenance and repair business.

The SBIDZ fits neatly into two over-arching visions: Operation Phakisa and Project Khulisa, the targeted growth strategy of the Western Cape Provincial Government which includes servicing and repairing of oil rigs as a priority.

Priority sectors at Saldanha are upstream Oil and Gas and Marine Engineering and Services. The IDZ is run by the SBIDZ-Licencing Company which works together with Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) on many joint projects.

These are being undertaken to create good conditions for possible investors. Quayside infrastructure has been upgraded, including a waste-water treatment plant and a new road and bridge over the MR559. Fencing and access control points in support of the customs zone are being constructed.

Three major projects are underway or in the planning stage, overseen by national government, the Southern African Oil and Gas Alliance and the SBIDZ-LC:

Offshore Supply Base Basil Read won the contract to extend TNPA’s general maintenance quay to create an Offshore Supply Base (OSB). The quayside is 294m with a further 3.8ha being available onshore for support operations. It will cater for ships and rigs looking for oil along both coasts of Africa, and any other rigs passing along the coast.

Berth 205 This is the name of a planned specialised Rig and Vessel Repair Quay which will be able to cater to the latest design in oil rigs.

Mossgas Jetty Equipment and vessel-servicing facility: this planned 1 000-metre long jetty will be perpendicular to the shoreline of the Port of Saldanha Bay. It will have a maximum width of 120m and be able to serve several ships or rigs in need of repairs or servicing at the same time. In addition, there will be a floating dock. TNPA has done studies on the possible location of the jetty and the local and international market will be canvassed for companies to do the work.

Saldanha has not been chosen by the National Department of Energy (DoE) to host a gas-to-power plant: Richards Bay and Coega (Port Elizabeth) have instead been listed as the sites for 2 000MW and 1 000MW plants, if private investors for projects at those ports can be found. The Provincial Government of the Western Cape has asked the DoE to reconsider and wants Saldanha to be allocated at least 1 000MW potential for private companies to consider bidding to run such a power plant. If gas was used to generate power, the next step would be for factories to consider using gas and then the whole energy mix could be transformed.

Main ports, controlled and managed by Transnet National Ports Authority

Saldanha

Cape Town

Mossel Bay

Ngqura

Port Elizabeth

East London

Durban Facilities Key cargo/function Plans

Slipways, quayside facilities (Mossgas Jetty). Fabrication facility (FerroMarine Africa).

SWL floating crane, two graving docks, syncrolift. Cruiseship terminal.

Two offshore mooring points. Slipway. PetroSA logistics base.

Rig repair. Iron ore.

General cargo.

Fishing.

Containers, dry and liquid bulk.

Container terminals, bunkering, slipway. Vehicles, manganese, general cargo.

Dry dock and repair quay. Vehicles and grain.

Ship repair. One graving dock, several floating docks. Three repair quays. Private quayside facilities (EBH and Dormac). Cruise-ship terminal. Vehicles and multicargo. Industrial Development Zone. Oil and gas supply base and rig repair.

Enhance marine engineering capability for oil and gas sector.

Slipway upgrade.

Expand rig repair. Serve Coega IDZ.

Removal of manganese to Ngqura, creation of leisure waterfront.

Serves East London IDZ. Recent upgrades have been done.

Improve access for trucks, back-of-port. New storage areas.

Richards Bay Richards Bay Coal Terminal. Repair berth in small craft harbour. Serves IDZ. Coal. Possible gas and renewable energy hub. Service offshore oil and gas sector.

FOCUS Partnerships boost skills training

False Bay TVET College is training artisans and nurturing entrepreneurs.

Centres of Specialisation National Government has initiated the National Development Plan and the Strategic Infrastructure Plan to stimulate growth in the economy. These plans include investing in and stimulating ocean-related industries through Operation Phakisa. In the Western Cape, the provincial economic plan known as Project Khulisa focusses economic growth through three pillars – Tourism, Agri-Processing and Oil and Gas. The Oil and Gas sector is probably poised for the greatest development, with major plans announced for redeveloping ports and taking a bigger slice of the oil rig repair industry. All these developments will require huge numbers of riggers and mechanical fitters for deployment to oil rigs, ports, construction, engineering and transport crews.

The government is investing in the TVET colleges to ensure that these skills demands will be met and has initiated the Centres of Specialisation Programme through the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to address the demand for qualifications in the priority trades needed for the implementation of government’s growth strategy.

False Bay TVET College was selected as one of the Centres of Specialisation and is thus the premier training institution for riggers as well as mechanical fitters in the Western Cape. The College is inviting industry to join this exciting venture. With training incentivised through industry and SETA grants, it makes good business sense to invest now in apprenticeships for these trades.

Centre for Entrepreneurship/Rapid Incubator The Centre for Entrepreneurship/Rapid Incubator (CFE/RI) was founded through a partnership between the National Department of Higher Education and Training, the National Department of Small Business Development and the College.

The CFE/RI applies an innovative and holistic development approach to youth entrepreneurship development, striving to shift the mindset of young people away from only seeking employment to creating employment through entrepreneurship. Learning is supported by structured individual mentoring and the facilitation of linkages to new resources.

Technical Support: Rapid Incubator (RI) The CFE provides technical support to the enrolled entrepreneurs through access to the Rapid Incubator (RI), which consists of engineering and woodwork workshops and an innovative Makers Space. These workshops are equipped with machinery, tools and the production support needed to develop and manufacture new offerings. Each of the workshops can accommodate 10 people working simultaneously. While the RI provides a supportive environment and physical space for product development, entrepreneurs are responsible for their own product development consumables. The Makers Space is equipped with laser cutters, a large CNC wood router, a vinyl cutter and 3D printing.

The RI offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to manufacture prototypes and actual products to sell, assisting them to improve the chances of starting up and accelerating their enterprise into a viable business. The College welcomes any established company’s involvement and investment in this credible incubation programme that will contribute significantly to establishing a vibrant SMME economy.

New Swartklip Campus The Swartklip Campus is the College’s next catalytic project, set to trigger positive transformation in the surrounding communities of Mitchells Plain and Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Located at the former Denel munitions testing grounds, the site offers acres of land and solid building structures which will be refurbished into state-of-the-art workshops and classroom spaces.

The Swartklip Campus will primarily focus on artisan-related programmes and will open its doors in 2019 for its first student intake of students in the Rigging programme. Offering programmes in the priority artisan trades, the campus will accommodate an estimated 3 000 students a year once fully operational, making a major contribution to the National Development Plan’s goal of producing 30 000 skilled artisans per year.

Companies interested in collaborating with the College on the Swartklip Campus venture are encouraged to complete an Expression of Interest form, obtainable on the official College website.

Resources for business: • https://www.westerncape.gov. za/apprenticeship-for-employers/ useful-information • https://www.westerncape.gov.za/news/ apprenticeships-important-tool-tacklingyouth-unemployment

CONTACT DETAILS

Centre of Specialisation: +27 21 787 0800 Email: jacqui.layman@falsebay.org.za Centre of Entrepreneurship and Rapid Incubator: +27 21 201 1215 Email: info@falsebayincubate.co.za Website: www.falsebaycollege.co.za