Mr President
Secretary General
Excellencies
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen
It is an honour and a privilege to be addressing this august body the IMO Assembly, for the second time within a period of a week. South Africa has a long and colourful history of active association with IMO dating back to the days of the organisation’s predecessors, including the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO). Our country was an active participant at the events and programmes leading to the establishment of IMO, including being invited to and attending in 1948 the first session of the Intergovernmental Maritime Organisation (IMCO), now the IMO.
When the IMO took a decision to expunge from its ranks the apartheid rulers of my country for their racist policies, thereby making a contribution towards the establishment of democracy in South Africa, we were grateful. Since our return to the ranks of the IMO in 1995 democratic South Africa has been an active and proud member of the organisation.
We are intent on making our humble contribution in the development and enforcement of regulatory measures aimed at making global shipping, which is the life blood of the world trade, safe, secure, efficient and sustainable. South Africa currently holds the position of Vice Chairperson of the IMO Council, a position of great privilege indeed, allowing us to serve the global shipping community and the IMO in a role we do not take lightly.
South Africa has acceded to, and ratified, most of the key IMO conventions and related instruments, advancing and participating in many IMO programmes and initiatives in our country, our region and internationally. South Africa is an active member of the Indian Ocean and a participant of the Abuja memoranda of understanding on Port State Control.
At the last assembly South Africa became one of the first countries to volunteer for the IMO Voluntary Audit Scheme (VIMSAS). Fellow Representatives of the IMO Member States, at this assembly South Africa seeks your support to be re-elected and re-assigned to humbly serve you yet again on the IMO Council the executive and major policy making arm of the organisation. South Africa has ably and consistently served you on the IMO Council, demonstrating the experience and long history of focussed and active participation in various committees of IMO and its technical bodies such as the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) and Space System for the Search of Vessels in Distress and the Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (COSPAS/SASART).
South Africa is hosting the 17th Conference of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities in Cape Town in March 2010, the first time it is held in Africa. In addition South Africa is active in a number of United Nations (UN) agencies, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
South Africa is by all accounts a major regional maritime nation, which has spared no effort in making its contribution towards the advancement of the agenda of IMO, ensuring that the organisation serves the shipping and world community as an effective and efficient instrument of global maritime governance. South Africa is uniquely positioned to make such a contribution due to the fact that we are largely dependent for our economic survival as a nation on the effectiveness of world trade and sustainability of marine life.
Coupled with this is the fact that our country is situated along one of the major and strategic global shipping trade choke points the cape route and has developed a massive modern maritime infrastructure and vibrant marine service industry geared to the service of global shipping.
South Africa’s dependence on and contributions to world trade, particularly maritime trade, is borne by the following economic facts:
* South Africa’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) (in 2008) was about $310 billion, with total trade accounting for $180 billion, which is 58 percent of the country’s total GDP. Exports figures were about $80 billion with imports at almost $100 billion. This sets South Africa’s share of global trade at about 0.55 percent, making the country a significant trade player globally
* Furthermore, South Africa is located on a long coast line of just under 3 000 kilometres, surrounded by three oceans - the Indian, the Atlantic and the Southern ocean. South Africa has jurisdiction over about 1 million square kilometres of Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) and a search and rescue responsibility spanning over a 27 million square kilometres zone, covering a vast sea-room up to the polar continent of the Antarctic
The vastness of South Africa’s areas of responsibility is compounded by, amongst others, the two major factors:
* South Africa is situated on a major sea route which currently serves to facilitate the safe and secure movement through or near our coastal waters of about 500 million tons of crude petrochemical sea trade, representing over 30 percent of the world’s petrochemical production, on board over 5 000 tanker voyages of very large crude carriers per annum. This is over and above thousands of merchant ships, fishing and commercial vessels, and hundreds of special platforms transiting or visiting its ports.
* The Cape sea route and South Africa’s coastal waters are notorious to shipping for their harsh and perilous nature, necessitating the coastal state to undertake and execute many responsibilities and obligations, aimed at ensuring safety of life and navigation at sea. To that end South Africa’s centre for sea watch and response, which houses our maritime rescue coordination centre and the standby salvage tug programme responds to over 40 marine incidents a month, with the standby tug assisting hundreds of transiting ships in distress annually, some incidents occurring far out in the polar Antarctic region.
In order to facilitate the country’s maritime trade and carry out our domestic and international maritime obligations and responsibilities, South Africa has developed a sophisticated maritime transport and logistics services infrastructure, coupled with enormous sea watch and emergency response capabilities.
South Africa has nine commercial ports, of which the ninth and the 26 meter draft port of Ngqura were opened in October 2009. The country’s ports handle over 430 million tons of varied cargo types, carried on over 9 000 ship calls each year.
Furthermore, Chairperson, South Africa has endeavoured to live up to the IMO’s mission of ensuring Safe and secure ships, clean seas and efficient shipping. To that extent South Africa is proud and happy to report to this august IMO Assembly on the progress being made on some of the key safety, security and environmental programmes:
* Maritime Security: the country has expanded its maritime security capacity beyond the dictates of International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS). With the establishment of the South Africa’s centre for sea watch and response we have been able to implement, expand and coordinate our vessel traffic services, automatic identification system, the small vessel monitoring system and long range identification and tracking system, thereby enhancing the safety and security services.
Western Indian Ocean Marine Highway Project which is project managed by South Africa on behalf of the 13 countries of the Western Indian Ocean is progressing well, reaching its key milestones with time and money to spare. The project obtained an unqualified audit opinion from the World Bank auditors. Phase one, which is largely hydrographic, is expected to be completed by end of 2010.
Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre: the regionalisation of the Cape Town MRCC, to include 13 countries in our region, has gained momentum particularly in the area of capacity building.
Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT): South Africa’s offer to its regional counterparts to join in on its LRIT data centre is receiving attention by our partners. On this note: South Africa would like to thank Canada and the Canadian coast guard, as well as Australia for the financial and non-financial assistance in setting up our national LRIT system.
South Africa is looking forward to serving the IMO and the shipping community on the Council, should such an honour be conferred on us.
See you in South Africa in 2010 at the finals of the FIFA World Cup.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Transport
28 November 2009
