S. African Engineers & Metallurgists to Strike from July 1
More than 220,000 members of the union of engineers and workers of South Africa (NUMSA) will drop their tools on July 1, after the failure of talks to avert a strike, their leaders said Sunday. The secretary general of South Africa's largest union, Irvin Jim, said members of NUMSA also manifest at the headquarters of Eskom electricity on July 2 as part of their mobilization for a wage increase of 12 percent, nearly twice that of inflation. Eskom, which produces nearly all electricity in Africa's most developed economy, is considered an essential service making it illegal for workers to go on strike. South Africa is still reeling after a five-month strike platinum mine ended last week with a wage agreement…
Feature: The ISPS Code
John Riding, director of Marico Marine, speaking at Ship Repair & Conversion in London, presents a rosy picture for the future of ship repair by pointing out that freight rates have not been so high for years and some owners, such as bulk carrier operators are enjoying a rare opportunity to seriously invest in maintenance. The busy state of building yards means that "keeping an older vessel in service longer has great commercial attraction," said Riding. He believes that some repair yards have the potential to make a return for the first time in a long time. However, there is a fly in the ointment in the form of the ISPS Code. The code as has implementation date of July 2004 and applies to all passenger ships…
Dormac's Deal Revives South African Shipbuilding
There was excitement at Dormac recently when the keel-laying ceremony for a new $8.2m oil bunker barge commissioned by Smit Amandla Marine signaled the revival of the shipbuilding industry in South Africa. Dormac's empowerment partner, Palisa Investments, owns 25.5 percent in the company, according to a report on www.busrep.co.za. Pim Zandee, the former chief executive of Smit Amandla, said the specialist marine services company, which is the biggest oil bunker supplier in the Durban harbor, chose Dormac to build the bunker barge as it wanted to prove that the work could be done in South Africa. The barge is due for delivery in September or October next year. Dormac was established in 1967 as Dorbyl Marine and built 107 ships until 1994, employing 1,800 workers.
