Cape Town, 2 March 2001
Good morning ladies and gentlemen.
I am pleased to welcome to this conference:
Ms Doumbia-Henry and Mr Wagner of the International Labour Organization in
geneva;
Mr Bainbridge of the International Transport Workers´ Federation in London;
Mr Storhaug of the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in Oslo;
Observers from the Southern African Development Community;
Board members, management and staff of the South African Maritime Safety Authority;
All the speakers;
Members of the fishing industry, and especially managers, skippers, crews and
families of our lost fishers.
You are all very welcome.
Shortly after I assumed office as the Minister of Transport, I was introduced to the fishing industry by the sinking of the "Palli Haja Marrianu" with terrible loss of life in June 1999. Twenty-nine of our fishers were lost in that single disaster.
Soon afterwards I met with their families on several occasions in cape town and experienced for myself their great pain and suffering. Then, I called for a court of marine enquiry to minimize, as far as possible, a recurrence of such a tragedy. Later, I also called for this conference to establish dialogue and co-operation between all stakeholders and roleplayers so as to reduce loss of life as much as possible.
Today, I am here to listen to your concerns and recommendations. This government is committed to dialogue and co-operation with the wide fishing community.
I want to give serious attention to the prevention, as far as possible, of loss of life. I understand that the speakers will make recommendations to improve safety, and I want to encourage people to speak from the floor during the several panel discussions.
I am also concerned about the hardship and grief suffered by the families and children who have lost their breadwinners and parents. Again, I encourage people to speak from the floor, especially family members of our lost fishers. Your recommendations for the easing of your hardship will be conveyed to the relevant departments and organisations.
The statistics with which I have been provided by SAMSA show a high loss of life. For the period between 1996 and 2000 inclusive, a total of 111 fishers were lost. Of these 111 fishers, 86 lives were lost as a direct result of the strandings and sinkings of vessels.
With regard to the remaining 25 lives, 21 fishers were lost overboard and 4 crew members were fatally injured on board. The average loss of life per year is: 17 persons due to strandings and sinkings; 4 persons due to being lost overboard; and less than 1 person due to fatal injuries.
With regard to the average loss of 17 persons per year due to strandings and sinkings, 1999 showed an increase of 100% above the average rate because of the terribly huge loss of life on the “Palli Haja Marrianu”.
For the period between 1996 and 2000, it is very good to record that 60 fishers were rescued from stranded or sunk vessels, and 4 crew were saved after falling overboard.
Nonetheless, what these statistics show is that much more work must be done by all of us as soon as possible to prevent loss of life as far as possible.
The fishing industry forms by far the largest sector on the South African register of ships. At present 688 fishing vessels are registered in South Africa with a total of 116,000 gross tonnage on the register. Much of the survey and inspection work of SAMSA is carried out on these fishing vessels, while SAMSA also has the responsibility of surveying and inspecting other types of vessels including foreign vessels.
The fishing industry operates mostly from the commercial ports of Cape Town, Saldanha Bay, Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth which are administered and operated by Portnet. In addition, fleets operate from harbours administered by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism that are spread along the coastline, with the largest harbour being Hout Bay.
South Africa´s commercial fisheries are valued at more than R2.5 billion annually and employ some 27,000 people. Recreational fishing not only attracts some 750,000 enthusiasts, who employ some 130,000 people, but also generates some R1.7 billion in revenues.
When one considers these facts the scope of the difficulties in preventing loss of life from south african fishing vessels is clear. Other countries have similar difficulties.
The international labour organization and the food and agricultural organization of the united nations estimate that fishing at sea is one of the most dangerous occupations in the world and that there are approximately 24 000 deaths per year at a fatality rate of 80 per 100 000 which is lower than the South African rate.
I emphasise again that much more work must be done by all of us in South Africa. We must aim to reduce loss of life to zero and we must also try to ease the hardship and suffering when lives are lost. I am sure that the conference will identify:
But for now I want to mention only one such matter, which is legislation. South Africa is committed to applying international maritime safety standards adopted by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization and the Internnational Labour Organization when that is in the national interests.
With regard to the promotion of the safety of fishing vessels, two major international maritime organization conventions should be mentioned. They are the Torremolinos International Convention for the safety of fishing vessels of 1977 as modified by the Torremolinos Protocol of 1993, and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Fishing Personnel of 1995.
The first convention sets minimum international standards with regard to the construction and equipment of vessels, while the second convention sets international training standards with regard to the personnel employed on board vessels.
New regulations to give effect to these conventions are being drafted for submission to me through the board of SAMSA. I am also expecting recommendations for amendments to the Merchant Shipping Act to give effect to the safety provisions in various International Labour Organization conventions.
But for now let us discuss together all the matters relevant to safety. I am pleased to declare this conference open.