ethekwini maritime cluster newsletter july 2020...

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ETHEKWINI MARITIME CLUSTER NEWSLETTER JuLY 2020 ISSUE

Welcome Message from the MD

“What counts in life is not the

mere fact that we have lived; it is

what difference we have made to

the lives of others that will

determine the significance of the

life we lead.”

– Nelson Mandela

I thought it would be interesting to

reflect on the above quote in my

message to stakeholders, for the

month of July, dedicated to

celebrating the life of uTata

Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela. This is

precisely because the ultimate goal of

Ethekwini Maritime Cluster is to

make a difference in the lives of the

South African public, through proper

implementation of our programmes which seek to bring about economic growth and reform

in the maritime industry. This is a common vision that we share with our stakeholder

partners, who collectively act as a pillar of strength that supports the delivery of our

mandate.

Despite the challenges that have been introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not

wavered in ensuring that our programme delivery still continues. We have and still

continue, to deliver seminars aimed at helping businesses within the maritime industry

adapt to, and recover from, this COVID-19 affected business environment.

We are also proud of the fact that we have been able to support the delivery of study guides

to learners doing maritime studies in Wiggins Secondary School, JG Zuma High School and

Sithengile Secondary School. Additionally, we distributed 600 EMC compiled and produced

Maritime Careers Booklets, distributing 200 copies to each of the abovementioned schools.

We consider these interventions to be vital in ensuring that our maritime studies’ learners

get our support, in navigating these trying times. Secondly, by ensuring that we continue to

spread maritime career awareness we are guaranteeing the entry of new talent into the

maritime industry.

Again, in the spirit of making a difference in the lives of others, let us all ensure that as

citizens and organisations we adhere to the COVID-19 regulations. This is important

because adherence to the regulations not only protects us, but others that we are close to as

well.

As we go into the month of August, we would like to wish women from all walks of life,

especially those in the maritime industry, a Happy Women’s Month!

Zenzile Gwamanda| Managing Director EThekwini Maritime Cluster|

EThekwini Maritime Cluster

Sponsors the Printing of Grade 12

Maritime Study Guides ………………....2

International Speaker Shares

Business Insight During EMC-SMRT

Bio Co-hosted Webinar …………..…….3

Ethekwini Maritime Cluster Annual

Women in Maritime Webinar

2020………………………………………………..4

EMC Marine Manufacturing and

Boat-building Members Engage in

Robust Discussions…………………….…..5

EMC Successfully Holds Its First

Virtual Annual General Meeting ……5

Transnet Launches Automated

System in Durban in Hopes of Easing

Truck Congestion………………………..…6

Upcoming Events…………………….……..7

Inside This Issue

EThekwini Maritime Cluster

Sponsors the Printing of Grade 12

Maritime Study Guides

ETHEKWINI MARITIME CLUSTER NEWSLETTER July 2020 ISSUE

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In July, the EThekwini Maritime Cluster sponsored the

printing and delivery of the Maritime Economics Study

Guides for Grade 12 learners, to three KZN high schools

offering maritime studies. The schools are Wiggins

Secondary, JG Zuma High and Sithengile Secondary.

The study guide was written by Sail Africa’s managing

director, Jacquiline DeFin, a retired teacher steeped

with experience of writing textbooks.

“The study guide was written out of a perceived need

during lockdown to assist learners who had no access to

online learning and who were studying Maritime

Economics. Some of our learners were struggling with

the subject and we were sitting at home with the

capacity to help them. There is no study guide available

only a textbook, the idea of a study guide is to give the

learners help so that they could study without a

teacher,” said DeFin.

DeFin said the study guide, produced collaboratively by

Island View Shipping, a division of Grindrod Shipping

(SA) Pty Ltd, Ethekwini Maritime Cluster and Sail Africa

was designed with the learner in mind.

“In compiling the guide, I followed the Curriculum

Assessment Policy Statement very closely and ensured

that each concept set out in the guide was explained in a

way a learner could understand. As an experienced

textbook author, I did not find a problem with writing. I

received input on the content from Sail Africa’s

qualified instructors and facilitators, who remembered

what it was like to be in school,” added DeFin.

Samkele Mlambo, Maritime Economics teacher at

Mowat Park and Chairperson of the KZN Maritime Educators Cluster said, “Over the years as Maritime Economics teachers we have

been fortunate in that we’ve had ex high school teachers, that have worked hard to support us in terms of producing useful learning

material, such as the grades 10 to 12 maritime textbooks produced by Balungile Masuku. Jacqueline DeFin has also followed suit with a

great piece of work for our learners. I find the study guide to be extremely useful and that is the consensus among the maritime educa-

tors.”

Mlambo added that it would be great if these study guides can be introduced in grades 10 and 11.

“Currently I am working on the Grade 11 learner guide which I hope to have ready by the time the learners return to school. I know the

syllabus has been cut but I would rather write to the full curriculum so that it can be used in future years as well,” concluded DeFin.


EThekwini Maritime Cluster Sponsors the Printing of Grade 12 Maritime Study Guides

Pictured above: Cay Hickson, operations manager at Sail Africa and Sibusiso

Zondo, Training and Skills Development Unit officer at Ethekwini Maritime

Cluster.

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S outh Africa is experiencing extremely trying times, where the

COVID-19 virus is attacking us on all fronts: socially, economically,

physically and in many other negative ways. Collaboration is key to

success. EThekwini Maritime Cluster (EMC) has taken the challenge

to enhance collaboration, during this time into its stride.

This was evident when on 10 July EMC collaborated with SMRT BIO SA and

Cargill Refined Oils of Netherlands to host the first in a series of webinars,

directed at sharing business recovery strategies to overcome the negative

impacts the hard lockdown has had on businesses. Furthermore, this is to

help businesses in South Africa deal with the new workplace health and safe-

ty requirements.

“It is precisely against this background that EThekwini Maritime Cluster has

devised an intervention to support the efforts of businesses in the maritime

industry to survive in this devastating period,” said Zenzile Gwamanda,

managing director of EMC.

In partnership with SMRT Bio, we have decided to organise webinars that

will feature various business experts, local and international, to share their

experiences. International speakers will present best practice models, as

their countries have experienced the devastating pinnacle of COVID-19 and

are now easing towards alert level 1,” added Gwamanda.

The presenter in this particular session was Erik van Eig, Maintenance and

Reliability Manager at the Cargill Edible Oil Refinery in the Port of Rotter-

dam. Van Eig also worked as Factory Operations Manager and TPM Manager

(Manufacturing Excellence) in the Unilever Liquid Detergents Factory in

Vlaardingen, the Netherlands.

“Cargill Refined Oils Rotterdam, a resilient firm that has over 150 years of

experience, has withstood pandemics, economic downturns and more but

has always come through the other side,” said van Eig, through his presenta-

tion.

In his presentation van Eig highlighted the need for government and industry to collaborate and share insights. Van Eig also stressed

that for business to overcome during this turbulent time strong leadership was required from all stakeholders.

“The pandemic has impacted on sales and production volumes causing the costs to rise. Daily routines have also changed, and we have

been implementing daily crisis meetings when necessary,” said van Eig of the pandemic’s impact on Carghill Edible Oil Refinery.

“Management visibility on the shop floor during all operations is more necessary than ever. The impact of the pandemic has caused eve-

ryone to exercise life’s one important principles which is to take care of one another, and donate or give back to the community,” added

van Eig.

The company donates disinfecting alcohol to the Dutch government and has committed 35 million dollars and more than three million

pounds of food for global COVID-19 relief efforts. They also partnered with South Africa’s Rise Against Hunger Africa to support commu-

nities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The webinar was well attended by representatives of the various stakeholder partners of EMC, and it also stimulated insightful questions

and comments.

“We invite more stakeholders to partake in this series of webinars, and to make their contributions in the form of presenting their best

practice models or helping us identify further issues that we can facilitate solutions to,” said Gwamanda


International Speaker Shares Business Insight During EMC-SMRT Bio Co-hosted Webinar

Pictured from the top: Erik van Eig, Maintenance and

Reliability Manager at the Cargill Edible Oil Refinery in

the Port of Rotterdam, Richard Liebrechts, from SMRT

Bio, and Zenzile Gwamanda, Managing Director at EMC.

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Ethekwini Maritime Cluster Annual Women in Maritime Webinar 2020


Ethekwini Maritime Cluster invites you, our most valued stakeholder, to a Women in Maritime Webinar that promises to informative as

much as it will be stimulating and inspiring:

Theme

Women in Maritime Charting a Course Towards Collaboration

Background

You are humble requested to be part one of our panelists of the Ethekwini Maritime Cluster Annual Women in Maritime Webinar for

2020, happening on the 28th of August. Every August, EThekwini Maritime Cluster gathers women from different sectors of the mari-

time industry to celebrate pioneer women who have made their mark in this predominantly male-lead industry. Since 2012, where EMC

made history by co-hosting one of the biggest conferences on the African continent entitled the ‘3rd African Women in Shipping Confer-

ence’, EMC has always taken seriously the discourse around the active role of women in the maritime industry. This is in line with the

United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 relating to gender equality.

Purpose

The theme of this year’s conference ‘Women in Maritime Charting a Course Towards Collaboration’ acknowledges the fact that women

have and, continue to make significant strides in anchoring themselves in all sectors of the maritime industry. Evidence of this is in re-

cent times, where a number of women have etched their names in the history books by pioneering in various key roles, previously occu-

pied by men, in the maritime industry. Through this webinar we aim to strengthen the dialogue amongst women in the maritime indus-

try. This will be achieved by creating a sustainable knowledge sharing and mentorship platform, that focuses on how women can collab-

orate in ensuring that more women continue to excel and play a lead role in the industry. Importantly, the discourse will also centre on

ways to break down barriers in order to allow more women to work and enterprise in the maritime industry.

Guests and Audience

To ensure that the webinar provides the robustness and thought-provoking conversations that the attendees will find edifying, we have

invited guest speakers from South Africa, the African continent and abroad. These guests are representative of women in the sectors of

women and youth participation, the public sector and private sector.

Women in the maritime industry, maritime related trades and those that are generally interested in the maritime industry are invited to

participate in this prestigious gathering, of eminent and career-driven women.

More information and registration details will be posted soon on www.maritimecluster.co.za or the Ethekwini Maritime Cluster Face-

book page. You can send enquiries to [email protected] or call 031-3010950/9 alternatively contact Mr Ngcebo Nxumalo on

0614983198.

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EMC Marine Manufacturing and Boat-building Members Engage in Robust Discussions


I n July, EThekwini Maritime Cluster's Marine Manufacturing and Boat

-building members of the advisory board, held the long-awaited

virtual meeting, aimed at efficiently growing the sector and

enhancing collaboration between the government, private sector, and

SME's.

Some of the institutions represented during the engagement were

eThekwini Municipality, Department of Trade, Industry and Competition

(dtic), Dormac and Duys Engineering Group.

Discussions tabled were around:

-The inclusion of more marine manufacturers and Boatbuilders to the EMC

advisory board

- Project matter of this committee

- Piloting of components manufacturing project.

-Addressing the skills gap

-Proposed document for funding

- Boatbuilding Park

- The need for industry to collaborate

The Cluster was tasked with putting together a viable business plan that

will solve the existing challenges and grow the Marine Manufacturing and

Boat-building industry in KwaZulu Natal. EMC would like to urge all

existing players to pull in the same direction and join EMC in this initiative.

Pictured from the top: Trishna Misra, EMC board

member, Chris Sparg, Dormac and Henk Duys, Duys En-

gineering.

EMC Successfully Holds Its First Virtual Annual General Meeting

O n the 29th of July, EMC

successfully held its first

virtual AGM where social

distancing norms were

observed and all

COVID-19 regulations adhered to.

Mzwamandla Sosibo, EMC board

chairman, in his opening remarks

welcomed everyone present and

emphasized the need for the maritime

industry collaborate and share

resources.

“EMC wants to see a competent

maritime system where all the

frustrations of the industry are

resolved speedily,” said Sosibo.

managing director of EMC, Zenzile

Gwamanda, presented the annual report on the organization's performance for the 2019/2020 financial year. Gwamanda expressed how

the organisation was steering forward despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

ISIQU Accountants and TDRU Inc. presented the annual financial statements and audit report with EMC presenting an unqualified

report for the financial year in question.

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T ransnet launches automated system in Durban in hopes of easing truck congestion Durban - Transnet Port Terminals has launched an automated Truck Booking System (TBS) to tackle congestion in the South Durban area. The system went online from Monday at Durban’s Container Terminal’s Pier 1.

Terminal manager Lulamile Mtetweni said the aim was to reduce the waiting time for trucks accessing its container terminals nation-ally with the automated TBS. He said the system has already been introduced at the harbour’s Pier 2, which can receive about 3000 trucks a day. “Congestion has been a feature of roads around our ports for a long time now, which necessitated a system that will help reduce con-gestion and improve efficiency. In conjunction with other stakeholders, Transnet is now tackling the congestion. The truck booking system is one of the projects being rolled out as part the collaborative decongestion project. The system was pronounced mandatory at the start of the National Lockdown,” Mtetweni said. He said Pier 1, which can receive about 1000 trucks a day, started with a manual booking system and has successfully upgraded to the automated system which is yet to be rolled out to Durban Roro Terminal, the Cape Town Container Terminal, and the Port Eliza-beth Container Terminal before the end of this year. The introduction of the system to Pier 1 is critical as it will improve the terminal’s staging time as well as truck turnaround time, said Mtetweni. He said in the 2019 financial year, Pier 1 handled 287,058 trucks, and that the booking system which has been optional, will now be mandatory. “No truck will come to the Terminal without an appointment. The system is internet-based and allows a user, typically a truck owner, to log on and book a slot when they are to collect or drop off a container. It allows TPT to utilise the full 24 hour cycle to allow for the smooth movement of trucks in and out of terminals. The system allows for a change of time slot should a truck encounter an unforeseen delay,” he said.

Transnet Launches Automated System in Durban in Hopes of Easing Truck Congestion


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The eThekwini Maritime

Cluster (EMC) is a non-

profit company that was

launched in 2009. The EMC

provides a platform for

collaborative engagement

between different levels of

government, state owned

enterprises and the

maritime community to

implement programs of

common interest that

support the growth and

improve performance and

competiveness of the

maritime industry.

10th floor Durban Club

Chambers

303 Anton Lembede Street

Durban

4001

www.maritimecluster.co.za

[email protected]

031-3010950/9

Ethekwini Maritime Cluster

@emc_maritime

Newsletter compiled and designed by : Ngcebo Nxumalo

Layout and editing: Intsika Corporate Communications

Upcoming Events

Message About Upcoming

Events

If you have any maritime

related news or events

that you would like

published on this

newsletter or our website

please contact:

Ngcebo Nxumalo

Tel: 031-3010950

Cell: 0614983198

ngcebo.nxumalo@mariti

mecluster.co.za

Ethekwini Maritime Cluster Annual Women in Maritime Webinar 2020| 28

August| time: TBA | zoom link to be posted soon

World Maritime Day Parallel Event| 28 October 2020| ICC Durban


ethekwini maritime cluster newsletter july 2020...

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