The South African Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga together with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) CEO, Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, yesterday (3 December 2012) hosted international shipping companies and entities as well as other maritime stakeholders from the UK and Europe on board the cadet training ship SA AGULHAS, moored on the River Thames.
The South African Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms Sindisiwe Chikunga together with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) CEO, Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, yesterday (3 December 2012) hosted international shipping companies and entities as well as other maritime stakeholders from the UK and Europe on board the cadet training ship SA AGULHAS, moored on the River Thames.
The event was held to profile SAMSA’s training and development globally, and to alert the international companies about the availability of expertly trained African cadets. It is hoped that the shipping lines will assist SAMSA in providing opportunities for further training and experience of marine cadets.
On boarding the ship, representatives from various shipping lines were able to meet the 62 cadets on board, an engagement SAMSA had arranged for networking potential employers with the cadets. The ship was docked beside HMS Belfast. The event also served to alert international companies about the availability of expertly trained African cadets.
The cadets daily activities include maintaining the watch offices, engaging in cargo work; getting greasy in the engine room, providing medical care where necessary, and cooking up a variety of foods and providing catering services.
In London they have visited the renowned Greenwich village which houses some of the world’s best maritime museums, touched the Greenwich line; and have had the experience of living the maritime reality from an international perspective.
The voyage from Cape Town to London began on 2 November and saw the vessel journey along the Atlantic coast of Africa with 62 trainee cadets on board, making stops in Namibia, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire. SA Agulhas has also been chartered by TAWT to undertake the ’Coldest Journey on Earth’ in 2013, as part of mainstreaming scientific research in the Commonwealth nations. The vessel loaded equipment for the expedition at the weekend.
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