“The maritime space is very important for economic emancipation, but also for moving, generally, the economy of the country…emerging from this meeting with SAMSA, we are pleased and happy with the work that they are currently doing, even as there are areas that they must improve on, especially those relating to contracts management, and transformation,” Transport Committee chairperson Selelo David Selamolelo said during a scheduled oversight visit of and meeting with the entity’s management leadership on 12 October in Cape Town.

The meeting took place at SAMSA’s Cape Town based Centre for Sea Watch & Response (incorporating the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre) and which in 2024 has had to deal with a significantly higher number of maritime incidents compared with recent years, involving both transnational cargo vessels traversing across South Africa’s three oceans along a 3 200 km coastline, as well as commercial fishing vessels; and from some of which incidents, in both categories, regrettably, life and property were lost at sea.

Regarding cargo vessels, incidents in the 2024 calendar year mostly involved ships losing containers at sea – with one eventually grounded on the west coast – all reportedly due to southern Africa’s adverse weather conditions this year. Among some of the cargo vessels’ incidents, in some instances, loss of crew members overboard were reported.

On the other hand, incidents related to commercial fishing vessels also involved no less than four of these, through either grounding (one in January in South Africa’s south east coast) or sinking (three in South Africa’s south west coast area over the last few months – with one resulting in a loss of 11 seafarers).

The spate of maritime incidents in South Africa’s oceans this year is increasingly becoming a concern even at highest government level. Five days prior to the Portfolio Committee on Transport’s oversight meeting with SAMSA management leadership, deputy Minister of Transport, Mkhuleko Hlengwa held a special meeting with SAMSA’s executive management, also in Cape Town.

This was for a briefing on among other issues, the progress being achieved in the salvage of the wreck of a general cargo ship, the MV Ultra Galaxy, that’s currently underway on South Africa’s west coast since its grounding in early July.

Selamolelo said the committee was not merely pleased and happy with SAMSA’s performance for the period under review, but also pledged the committee’s full support for the resourcing of the country’s maritime safety authority.

He said: “Coming out of this meeting is that we, as the Portfolio Committee on Transport, may have to find a way to give more support in terms of resources to SAMSA because they are doing a lot of work in terms of ensuring safety in our waters.”

South Africa is seeing a growing number of ships travelling around its coastline due to the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. This is placing further pressure on SAMSA to be able to respond to incidents, which are becoming more frequent as the volume of sea traffic increases.

The South African Search and Rescue (SASAR) organisation warned in its latest annual report that a lack of available assets, including South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft for search and rescue (SAR) operations “is a huge challenge.”

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), which is hosted by the South Africa Maritime Safety Authority on behalf of the Department of Transport in Cape Town, was unable to effectively provide the required maritime SAR service as stipulated in accordance with its mandate. The annual report indicated it is due to the “unavailability of resources and assets from the SASAR Manual Signatories such as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and having to rely on the availability of the Merchant Fleet vessels’ SAR operations.”

During the 2023/24 reporting period (April 2023 through March 2024), the MRCC responded to 138 SAR incidents, with 168 lives saved during the period. However, during the reporting period 20 lives were lost. The MRCC further assisted in connecting vessels to local Telemedical Services and coordinated the evacuation of 112 medevac (medical evacuation) operations for crew and passengers from vessels offshore to local hospitals.

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The report covers the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and details both the administrative and operational activities of the organisation during the period under review.

South Africa’s maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) operations are carried out by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), which is hosted by the South Africa Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) on behalf of the Department of Transport (DoT).

The MRCC, based in Cape Town, is responsible for the coordination of available resources for searching, assisting, and, where needed, conducting rescue operations in, and outside of, its Search and Rescue Region (SRR). MRCC Cape Town maintains overall management of operations, and serves as the point of contact for Regional MRCC South Africa, inclusive of Angola, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Comoros.

During the 2023/24 reporting period, the MRCC responded to 138 SAR incidents, with 168 lives saved during the period. However, during the reporting period 20 lives were lost. The MRCC further assisted in connecting vessels to local Telemedical Services and coordinated the evacuation of 112 medevac (medical evacuation) operations for crew and passengers from vessels offshore to local hospitals.

The recent report, however, notes a “lethargic or lacklustre response” on the part of countries in the region when it comes to SAR operations. It attributes this to several factors including the diversity in national priorities, constitutional requirements, a particular lack of political will due to the humanitarian nature of the services, and budgetary constraints.

“It must be mentioned that this challenge is not confined to our immediate neighbouring countries but is currently a continental challenge,” notes the report, adding that this was the very reason behind the adoption of the Lome Declaration, which aims to address this deficiency.

South Africa has made major strides in finalising SAR agreements, as out of the 14 countries identified for this purpose, 10 agreements are already in place. There are, however, some agreements which require review given their age, and to align them with the template adopted by the Lome Declaration.

Among the issues identified in the report, the lack of funding and aircraft were identified as a significant risk hindering the aeronautical and maritime sector’s ability to effectively respond to SAR incident/accidents.

The availability of South African Air Force (SAAF) aircraft for SAR operations “is a huge challenge, with limited to no availability,” notes the report. The Department of Health provincial Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) does not have contracts in place in some provinces, resulting in HEMS having no aircraft available for deployment. Further delays are due to the vast distances required to deploy.

MRCC Cape Town was unable to effectively provide the required maritime SAR service as stipulated in accordance with its mandate. The report indicated it is due to the “unavailability of resources and assets from the SASAR Manual Signatories such as the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and having to rely on the availability of the Merchant Fleet vessels SAR operations.”

“MRCC Cape Town is severely restricted by the lack of Maritime SAR capable resources and the required support from the SASAR manual signatory agencies. It is also restricted in its access to relevant technology which could enhance its response to SAR incidents.”

The report lists recommendations which could mitigate these concerns, such as the establishment of Service Level Agreements with vessels that can assist in the delivery SAR raft, recover survivors from sea or rescue craft, and deliver medical evacuation support for life threating conditions at ranges exceeding 50 nautical miles.

Additionally, the report calls on SAMSA to ringfence the MRCC financial requirements for it to be claimed from SASAR, and MRCC Cape Town should be allowed to procure Maritime SAR related technologies in consultation with the Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre.

MRCC Cape Town must further be allowed to identify able and capable SAR resources, air or surface, and utilise these resources without restriction as prescribed in the South African Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Act, 2002.

A major concern discussed in the report is the status of air support from the SAAF, both in regard to training and operations, which have continued to decline over the year due to lack of serviceable air frames.

“There were significant periods when no serviceable aircraft were available at the various squadrons to support SAR operations. As a result, no joint mountain rescue operations were conducted with SAAF and insufficient training occurred to maintain currency.”

Levers Mabaso, Chief Director of SASAR, expressed his concern in the report around the “hugely underfunded South African Search and Rescue Organisation, as well as SAR operations which poses significant risk to the safety of aviators and mariners plying their trade in the South African territorial waters/land.”

SASAR’s activities are funded from public funds and its budget forms part of Vote 35 of the Department of Transport. Other funding sources come in the form of sponsorships from the aviation and maritime industry for specific projects or purposes. No sponsorships or donations were received during the year under review.

The annual budget during the year under review was R66 389 000. The budget covered the compensation of employees, transfer payments, machinery and equipment, search and rescue projects, and meetings. However, total expenditure was R66 629 000, leading to a deficit of R240 000.

SASAR and its SAR operations remain grossly underfunded, which the organisation believes poses significant risk to the safety of aviators and mariners plying their trade in South African territorial waters.

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Multiple government and non-government entities came together, coordinated by the National Disaster Management Centre, to ensure the safety of those affected by the unusually inclement weather. Government entities that responded to the snowfall that began on Friday included the South African Police Service (SAPS), N3 Toll Concession, the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral), and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Non-government entities included ER24, Gift of the Givers, and SARZA (Search and Rescue South Africa).

DCD provided a Sherp vehicle, which, “played a critical role in the rescue efforts,” according to SARZA, which is a volunteer search and rescue organization that makes use of 4×4 owners in South Africa to respond to people whose lives may be in danger. SARZA has regional teams in six of the country’s nine provinces.

The Sherp was used to help clear roads and to deliver food and water to stranded motorists.

“Your support made a huge impact and helped us save lives during the mission,” SARZA said in regard to efforts primarily focused on the Van Reenen Pass on Saturday 21 September, where conditions were “particularly challenging.”

The Sherp multi-purpose amphibious vehicle is offered by DCD for military, search and rescue, mining, private and other applications. It is manufactured by Quadro International. The first vehicle was produced in 2012. In 2018 the company became an official provider for the United Nations and in 2019 received a UN award. More than a thousand vehicles have been sold around the world – most customers are non-private entities, including NGOs and mining companies.

The vehicle comes in several variants. The Sherp UTV was the first model produced, followed by the Sherp Pro in 2017; the Sherp Ark and Sherp Shuttle followed in 2019 and the Sherp N 1200 in 2020. The Sherp Ark adds a 6×6 trailer to the vehicle while the Sherp Shuttle is a boat that can carry and launch two Sherp vehicles.

The Sherp Pro can carry six people or more than 1 000 kg payload. It has a top speed of 40 km/h on land and 6 km/h on water. It can operate in -40 to +40 degree conditions. The Sherp Ark can carry four people in the main vehicle and 18 in the trailer.

The weekend snowfall resulted in the death of a 39-year-old woman who passed away on Saturday while trapped in the blizzard that engulfed the N3 between Van Reenen’s Pass, connecting KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

Van Reenen’s Pass was reopened to traffic on Sunday 22 September as key routes in Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape were cleared.

The government extended its appreciation to the assistance by humanitarian organisations for the relief they rendered, GCIS said in a statement.

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