Nelson Mandela News

We think of Bermuda as a tiny paradise in the North Atlantic. But long before cruise ships moored up, prison ships carried hundreds of convicts to the island, first docking in 1824 and remaining there for decades.Islands have long been places to deport, exile and banish criminals. Think of Alcatraz, the infamous penitentiary in San Francisco, or Robben Island in South Africa, which held Nelson Mandela. The French penal colony Devil’s Island was immortalised in the Steve McQueen film Papillon…

The already endangered African penguin is being driven away from its natural habitat off the east coast of South Africa due to noise from ship refueling, a scientific study has found.The number of African penguins on St Croix island in Algoa Bay, once the world's largest breeding colony of the birds, has plummeted since South Africa started to allow ships in the area to refuel at sea, a process known as bunkering, six years ago, the study found.Situated in a busy shipping lane along South Africa's east coast…

The docking of the Europa passenger liner in Cape Town on Tuesday was meant to be a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the official start of the cruise ship season in South Africa’s top tourist hub, the first since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.But international travel curbs on southern Africa, where the new Omicron coronavirus here variant was first identified, have blown expectations of a bumper tourist season out of the water.The multi-story luxury liner is the first to dock at…

On August 28, Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) held a keel-laying for the second of three Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) that it is building for the South African Navy’s Project BIRO.The South African Navy’s Project BIRO aims to develop maritime security, ensuring the country’s capabilities to respond effectively, rapidly, and cost-efficiently to maritime threats such as piracy and illegal fishing.The MMIPVs draw on proven technology from Damen’s standardized range of patrol boats…

On Saturday,February 23, 2019, Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) hosted a keel laying ceremony, marking the start of construction on the first of three Multi-mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPVs) for the South African Navy. These vessels will aid in protecting the country from threats such as trafficking, illegal fishing and piracy, as well as support job creation and enterprise development.The keel laying ceremony is a maritime tradition that dates back to the times of wooden…

The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) operated Ports of Durban, Cape Town, and Elizabeth have been nominated for the Africa & Indian Ocean segment of the 25th annual World Travel Awards in the category of “Africa’s Leading Cruise Port 2018”.Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards seek to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry. Global travel and tourism industry leaders will be recognized at the various World Travel Awards gala ceremonies, with Durban hosting the Africa and Indian Ocean segment for the third time.

Construction of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) new bed leveler (plough tug) is underway and was marked by an official keel laying ceremony in Port Elizabeth on January 19. The new vessel is being designed, manufactured, assembled, commissioned and delivered to TNPA’s Dredging Services division by shipbuilder FTC Engineering (Pty) Ltd, trading as Tide Marine Shipyard. The Black-, woman-owned family company has a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBBEE) Level…

The joint effort undertaken by a Disaster Management team at the Port of Ngqura has helped to avert a potential maritime disaster and ultimately saved the container vessel APL Austria, which caught fire last weekend. Transnet National Ports Authority, Transnet Port Terminals, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Fire Department, South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), South African Police Services (SAPS), National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) and a stevedoring company, worked together to battle the blaze, and the fire was eventually extinguished on Wednesday, February 15.

The Port of Ngqura is poised to play a vital role in ensuring the security of South Africa’s fuel supply, while creating a new petroleum trading hub for Southern Africa in anticipation of the relocation of existing liquid bulk facilities from Port Elizabeth. This follows the conclusion of an agreement between Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) and Oiltanking Grindrod Calulo (Pty) Ltd (OTGC)to plan, fund, construct, own, maintain and operate a new liquid bulk handling facility at the Port of Ngqura. The project is one of the Section 56 initiatives that TNPA has identified to encourage private sector participation as a key element…

The Port of Port Elizabeth is home port of a third ship to be registered on the South African Ships Register. This marks another step in South Africa’s drive to become a recognized Maritime Nation in line with the government’s Operation Phakisa initiative which aims to unlock the potential of the country’s ocean economy. On Wednesday, 13 July 2016, oil tanker MT LEFKAS docked at the port’s berth 100 where a ceremonial plaque exchange ceremony was officiated. The merchant vessel…

The latest of Transnet National Ports Authority’s (TNPA) nine new tugboats has set sail from the Durban premises of contractor, Southern African Shipyards, on Thursday, July 7, destined for its new home at the Port of Port Elizabeth. The tug was ceremonially launched as Qunu in May alongside a third tug, Cormorant. Qunu was named after the Eastern Cape home village of former President, the late Nelson Mandela and is due to arrive in Port Elizabeth on Friday, July 8. She is the second of two new tugs built for the port as part of this large-scale fleet replacement project.

Wärtsilä has donated an 8-cylinder Wärtsilä 20 engine and generating set, to the Marine Engineering Technology Department at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The donation represents a continuation of Wärtsilä's ongoing industry support programme aimed at helping future maritime sector leaders to acquire detailed understanding of marine technologies. The donation includes specialty tools and will provide students with valuable hands-on experience for expanding their knowledge of engine repairs, emissions and fuel economy. In addition to the equipment, Wärtsilä will also offer engine training to the Texas A&M Galveston engineering professors through the Wärtsilä Land and Sea Academy based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. "Wärtsilä is a future oriented company.

Two new landmarks at the Port of Ngqura, which are part of ongoing developments to position the port as a container transhipment hub for Sub-Saharan Africa, were officially launched by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) today. The new landmarks are the port’s state-of-the-art administration building and an administration craft basin for pilot boats and tugboats, including office facilities for operational staff working on these craft. Also included in TNPA’s latest R700 million investment into the port is the vacuum based automated mooring technology pioneered at Ngqura last year.

The South African government’s Operation Phakisa: Oceans Economy initiative has yielded more results with the ceremonial launch of two more tugboats built for Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA). The two tugs – named Qunu and Cormorant – form part of TNPA’s R1.4 billion contract awarded to Durban ship builder, Southern African Shipyards. It is the largest single contract TNPA has ever given to a South African company for the building of harbor craft and will see a total of nine new tugs built for the South African port landlord over three and a half years.

The first of Transnet National Ports Authority’s nine new, powerful tugboats set sail from the Durban premises of contractor, Southern African Shipyards, on Saturday, April 2, destined for its new home at the Port of Port Elizabeth. The tug was ceremonially launched as MVEZO last October. It arrived in Port Elizabeth in the early hours of Monday, April 4. Port Elizabeth port manager, Rajesh Dana, said, “The arrival of MVEZO in the Eastern Cape is particularly significant given that the tug was named after the small village in our province where former President…

Transnet National Ports Authority announced a milestone in its $98 million tug building contract when the first of its nine new tugboats was launched at the Durban premises of contractor, Southern African Shipyards. “This is the largest single contract TNPA has ever awarded to a South African company for the building of harbor craft,” said TNPA chief executive, Richard Vallihu. The tug was named ‘MVEZO’ in reference to the small village in the Eastern Cape of South Africa where former President, the late Nelson Mandela, was born.

Three South Africa youths made history in South Africa’s maritime economy sector at the weekend when they boarded the country’s first registered cargo ship since the dawn of democracy. Similarly, the city of Nelson Mandela Bay also marked its name in the country’s maritime sector’s history books when it was confirmed as the home of the country’s first registered vessel since 1985. The city is already home to the country’s first higher education and research institute, the SA International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) based at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. The youths, two from the Eastern Cape - Samkelo Ndongeni (25) a deck cadet from Ngqushwa near King Williams Town…

The second edition of Wartsila's Encyclopedia of Ship Technology is to be launched at the Nor-Shipping exhibition and conference being held in Oslo, Norway from June 2 to 5. The publication provides definitions to the current terminology used in the marine industry's technical vocabulary. It is intended as a means to pass on Wärtsilä's experience and know-how in this field, not only to the current community of experts but also to future generations of maritime professionals. It is being offered free of charge. The encyclopedia is part of Wartsila's ongoing industry support programme aimed at helping current and future marine engineers, architects, and other industry specialists.

The late Nelson Mandela once said: “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.” At the EU-Africa summit in Brussels last month, European leaders urged their African counterparts to facilitate that dream by shouldering more of the security burden in their countries, both onshore and offshore. The summit coincided with reports of renewed piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden; ongoing attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, and explosions and mass arrests in Kenya, all serving to underline the scale of that challenge.

For the third time in nearly five years, the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) has stepped down from a three-month command of the multi-national Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, after coordinating operations to deter and disrupt maritime organized crime in the Gulf of Aden as part of international counter-piracy efforts. The fact that there were no successful hijacking incidents in the CTF 151's area of responsibility during Singapore’s naval leadership is only part of the story of its success.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the former archbishop of Cape Town and one of the greatest living moral icons of our time, is scheduled to lecture on a segment of Holland America Line's 2014 Grand World Voyage on ms Amsterdam. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate will sail March 28 to April 2, 2014, from Durban to Cape Town, South Africa. Tutu will address guests at two speaking engagements onboard about his role as the first black African to serve as archbishop of Cape Town and about his work forging racial equality throughout the world.

An important initiative by Wärtsilä to support and stimulate the maritime economy in South Africa has come to fruition with the delivery of a state-of-the-art Wärtsilä 20 engine. The engine has been donated by Wärtsilä to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), and will be used to facilitate teaching within the University's School of Engineering. The donation is part of a long-term sponsoring partnership with NMMU and the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI). The official hand-over took place earlier in connection to the African Maritime Domain (AMD) Conference in Port Elizabeth in November but the actual delivery of the 11 ton engine has now been completed.

As part of Wärtsilä’s initiative to support and stimulate the maritime economy in South Africa, the company has donated a Wärtsilä 20 engine to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU). Part of a long-term sponsoring partnership with NMMU and the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), the engine will be used to facilitate teaching within the University's School of Engineering. The official handover took place earlier in connection to the African Maritime…