Despite having its roots in the maritime industry, South Africa’s presence in the global commercial shipping arena declined in the mid-90s. With VUKA Marine, we are helping promote the country’s ocean freight capabilities.
South Africa is a country with its roots firmly in the maritime sector. Despite this long history and the significant cargo volumes the country generates – particularly bulk products such as coal and iron ore – South Africa’s involvement in international maritime logistics rapidly declined from 1998 onwards. This led to a lack of jobs creation and a lost generation of domestic seafarers.
That all changed in 2014, courtesy of a prioritisation by Government of accelerated maritime industry development, which resolved some of the policy and legal impasses that had to be overcome for the establishment of South African shipping companies with nationally-registered ships, including VUKA Marine – co-owned by a majority black-owned company, Via Maritime Holdings and Japanese ship operator K-Line.
Today, re-establishing a maritime centre in South Africa capable of sustainably serving national, and international maritime operations, remains a priority. Increasing the number of ships sailing under the South African flag registry, and the development of a highly competent and globally competitive workforce, are fundamental to the delivery of the Government’s Medium-Term Strategic Framework 2019-241.
Since its inception in 2015, VUKA Marine has registered four vessels in South Africa. Cape Orchid – the first merchant vessel to be added to the country’s shipping register since the late 1980s –Cape Enterprise, Windsor Adventure and Cape Acacia make up the company’s fleet. The latter, the largest ship to have been registered in South Africa, replaced Cape Orchid when she was retired in 2020.
In 2015 we forged a partnership with VUKA to transport iron ore and coal on the first two ships in their fleet. The Cape Orchid, and its sister ship, Cape Enterprise. This partnership continues to this day with the chartering of the current fleet which carries mainly South African cargo.
This collaboration is key in advancing the national maritime agenda in South Africa and highlights how meaningful participation in world shipping is integral to economic growth.
Local representation among VUKA Marine’s crews has also risen, courtesy of a combination of local hiring and a dedicated seafarer development programme aligned with the efforts of the National Cadetship Programme, and supported by the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI). Through its Strategic Goal 2, SAIMI is committed to increasing the number of South African nationals – particularly those from disadvantaged groups – employed as part of the country’s maritime workforce2.
Since 2015, more than 70 local candidates have enrolled on the VUKA Marine programme, including 17 that have progressed onto the company’s Officer Development programme – 12 at sea and five awaiting deployment. Four cadets who have gone on to achieve Officer status; one of whom was recently promoted to 3rd Officer onboard the Windsor Adventure.
Several months ago, VUKA Marine also appointed its first South African captain, 42-year-old father-of-three, Claude Herbert, as Master of the Windsor Adventure. And while the global Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the speed of progress, as the company’s fleet continues to expand so too will its local seafarer pool and talent development efforts.
Anglo American’s shipping team, established in 2012, handles a significant amount of cargo sourced from South Africa, and shipped through the major bulk terminals of Saldanha Bay and Richards Bay.
Meet Captain Claude Herbert
Claude onboard the MV Windsor Adventure
Life at sea can be tough, particularly with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the maritime community. But Claude Herbert, Captain of VUKA Marine’s Windsor Adventure, can’t imagine doing anything else.
The life of a seafarer is not for everyone. But for Claude Herbert, the recently appointed Captain of VUKA Marine’s Windsor Adventure, part of Anglo American’s charter fleet, and the first South African in command of one of the company’s fleet of bulk carriers, he finds it hard to imagine himself doing anything else.
Born in Cape Town to the daughter of a skipper, Claude’s exposure to the maritime industry started when, at just six months old, he moved with his grandparents and his mother to the fishing town of Walvis Bay in Namibia.
While his early years confronted him with plenty of challenges, Claude thrived under the guidance of a secondary school teacher who helped him to obtain a matriculation exemption, a legal requirement for undergraduate study at a South African university, and a distinction in Mathematics (97%).
With these in hand, he was accepted to enrol at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. And when his original plan to study dentistry was side-tracked due to a lack of available bursaries, De Beers Marine Namibia, part of the Anglo American group, gave him the opportunity to embark on an apprenticeship as a navigation officer instead.
Claude Herbert (L) and Yomie Sithelo (R). Yomie came through VUKA Marine’s development programme and is currently in the rank of 3rd Officer
Claude spent his first year at sea on a rotational basis (one month on, one month off). During his time off, he completed several ancillary courses which, among others, included his Ship Captain's Medical certificate, Advanced Firefighting and Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS). After his year at sea, Claude then enrolled at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, where he completed the syllabus for his Deck Officer license, followed his Chief Officer and Master’s licenses.
Since then, his career has taken him around the world; both for work and in pursuit of additional qualifications, such as a Marine Pilot course in Hamburg, Germany and the Management of Major Emergencies training in Montrose, Scotland. He has also spent time in Australia working onboard a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel as a Marine Superintendent. Claude has also learned how to code, gaining a certificate in Visual Basic for Application (VBA), the programming language used to automate tasks in Microsoft Excel.
Of course, the maritime industry is competitive and securing the necessary qualifications does not always guarantee a ticket into the uppermost ranks. That’s why VUKA Marine’s efforts to build and nurture a talent pipeline in South Africa are so important and stood out to Claude when he was making a decision about the next steps in his own career.
One of the perks of the job is that you get to see every sunset and every sunrise
Claude said: “Having your Masters’ licence doesn’t entitle you to sail as a Master or a Captain. There are so many potential candidates, especially if you are in a company with individuals that have been doing this for 10, 20 or more years.
“The younger crew members I sail with don’t always realise how lucky they are to have opportunities like VUKA Marine’s Seafarer Development programme. It provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to enjoy a rewarding career, with the training to progress to the highest level.”
As with several professions, Covid-19 has made it incredibly challenging for maritime professionals, many of whom have been unable to take shore leave due to restrictions put in place across countries worldwide in order to mitigate the risks of the pandemic. This has meant that the equilibrium that existed previously in the lives of the seafaring community has diminished, leading to tougher questions being asked about their wellbeing.
Claude said: “Before Covid-19, it was easy to answer the question about why you would want to join the maritime industry. You get paid to travel the world, you wake up and get to breathe in the fresh air, you are there for every sunrise and every sunset, and you are away from the bustle of the city. It’s a different lifestyle and I have not managed to find the same inner peace anywhere else.
The crew of MV Windsor Adventure
“Of course, it has been tough in recent months. We never used to talk about mental health, but there are a lot of seafarers in the industry today who are suffering. Just imagine if your child was sick or a family member passed away and you were stuck on a vessel at sea or in port, unable to disembark. It’s not been easy and for some, it can mean they are less likely to perform their duties to the best of their abilities. The last vessel I served on, shore management tried very hard to get us on leave, but they couldn’t because of the restrictions, so I was away from home for 13 months. No amount of training can prepare you for that.”
Despite the challenges he and his industry peers have faced lately, Claude is proud of his chosen profession, of being part of the VUKA Marine team, and of the company’s vision to create a path to employment for more South African officers and crews to serve on South African ships.
Reflecting on this, and the experience he has gained throughout his own career, he said: “As Captain, I am the owner’s representative and, as such, I am responsible for any business with the charter; whether that be ensuring the vessel’s compliance with international or local legislation, the wellbeing of the crew, our environmental responsibilities and, most importantly, the development of, and safety of, each individual on board.
“In VUKA Marine and across the maritime industry more broadly we have a system whereby you understudy the person in the role above you, so you are equipped with the skills and expertise to step in and act at short notice if you need to. That means there is a continuous development process happening constantly, which is awesome. I am happy to be fulfilling my potential and to be playing a part in helping others to achieve theirs.”
1 Medium-Term Strategic Framework, 2019-24, https://bit.ly/3zGAwMR (accessed 27 Sept, 2021)
2 SAIMI Transformation Agenda, 10 Sept, 2020, https://bit.ly/3CPTKBH (accessed 27 Sept, 2021)
