Cape Town-based black
empowerment shipping
company, Marine Bulk Carriers
(MBC), has just invested
R300 million in a new anchor
handling tug and supply vessel,
and it is hoped that it will be
able to sail under an SA flag
and with an SA crew.
But those two hopes are
“still very much an act of faith”,
according to MBC director, Jan
Rabie.
The legislation attracting a
shipowner to register a vessel
locally is not yet in place, he
told FTW.
However, he also pointed out
that, within the department
of transport (DoT), there was
a technical review committee
that was supposed to be
sorting out such urgent issues
– including the proposed
tonnage tax as an incentive to
shipowners to register their
vessels locally.
But Rabie’s act of faith is
going to have to be strong,
because getting all the
relevant legislation amended
appropriately is likely to take
some time, and overcome some
equally strong objections from
affected parties.
According to Shepstone &
Wylie partner, Shane Dwyer,
a first step would be to amend
the Ship Registration Act.
It was last “significantly
amended”, he told FTW, on
April 25, 2003 – when it
imposed changes on the regime
of ship ownership, registration
and mortgage in SA, and made
the ship’s register available to
vessels majority owned by SA
nationals. It also opened the SA
register to bareboat charters
inwards.
“This,” said Dwyer, “changed
the whole face of the thing.”
But it still didn’t offer all the
benefits that a shipowner would
be looking for in local registry
of a vessel.
It would effectively allow
Rabie to register his tug under
the SA flag. What it wouldn’t
do would be to offer the tax
incentives available under other
ship’s registers, and that’s a vital
consideration when you have
R300m committed to a vessel,
and then all the running costs
once it goes into service.
Rabie is however not put
off the idea of his R300m tug,
and the SA flag is not a critical
issue. “If flagging it under the
SA flag doesn’t come off in time
(the vessel is due to be delivered
in 2015) we will simply go to an
open register. And we can sail
under that flag until they get all
their ducks in line.”
And it’s not going to distract
MBC from attacking its
potential market.
“We’re looking at the
offshore oil and gas industry,”
said Rabie. “Namibia, which is
our base, and Mozambique –
where there have been massive
oil and gas finds recently – will
be our initial focus.”
• Due to space constraints,
this article has been abridged.
The full version will be loaded
on ftwonline.co.za on June 21.
CAPTION
A vessel similar to – but slightly smaller than – the R300m
vessel on order by MBC.
