Browsing by Author "Dlamini, Langa Hewitt."

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Bareboat charter registration : the way for South Africa to regain a merchant fleet under its register.
(2015) Franck, Daniela Christin.; Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.
The economic benefit of a merchant fleet is well recognised in South Africa. As a means of articulating its aspirations, the government has drafted and implemented several policies designed to make the South African Ship Register more attractive. Evidence of these policies has been manifested in the rolling out of Operation Phakisa. Against this background, the dissertation will evaluate and analyse these policies. The thesis investigates possible reasons for the absence of a merchant fleet flying the South African flag and the impact which this has had on the country, and reflects on the effectiveness of the new policies. The aim of this work is to explore options that South Africa may employ through these policies, in its endeavour to re-establish itself as a respectable maritime nation. The central question the thesis asks is whether bareboat charter registration can be seen as a possible solution for increasing the merchant fleet under the South African Registration Act, 1998. Bareboat charter registration has been used by various developed and developing countries over the past centuries and offers substantial benefits in facilitating ship finances and encouraging joint ventures to promote commercial maritime expansions. This thesis seeks to establish whether BCR is a practice which should be promoted in South Africa in order to regain a merchant fleet.
Bills of lading and the use of maritime letters of indemnity.
(2019) Henry, Tanya Lara.; Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.
Abstract available in the PDF.
Cabotage as a means of developing the South African merchant fleet.
(2021) Motloutsi, Tshepo Mebe Euphenia.; Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.
The aim of the study is to examine the potential use of cabotage in growing the South African ship register and in creating conditions for the development of the South African merchant fleet. The study explores the adoption of a cabotage regime that would encourage the growth of the South African ship registry and assesses the mitigation of maritime related legislation to accommodate the implementation of cabotage for fleet growth purposes. Cabotage is the coastal trading of a vessel from one port to another within a single country's territorial boundaries. It is a term that is used to enforce restrictions on a country's coastal trade, and it can be strict or liberal. A strict cabotage regime is one in which maritime operations along a country's coast are restricted to indigenous ships, while a liberal cabotage regime is one in which foreign-owned ships are not discriminated against and their involvement in the country's coastal trade industry is unrestricted. The thesis follows an interpretivist paradigm, in which the researcher explores alternative means of developing the merchant fleet. This research is a desktop study that uses secondary data and employs a descriptive qualitative design. Both data collection and analysis were conducted using qualitative content analysis. The research poses three main questions. The first research question looks at the current status of the South African ship registry, which the study reveals is based on a registry carrying only five merchant ships despite government interventions to make the South African ship registry attractive to foreign shipowners. The second research question looks at whether cabotage can encourage the growth and development of the South African ship register. To this, the study found that the strict cabotage regime is suitable when seeking to encourage the growth of the South African merchant fleet. The third research question closely relates to the second research question. It deals with measures that government can adopt to implement and regulate cabotage in order to encourage growth of the ship registry in South Africa. The study found that adequate funding is fundamental to the initialisation of cabotage in South Africa as it would allow locals to finance ships and substitute foreign flags trading on the coast. Lastly, an examination of the adoption and implementation of cabotage in India and China was conducted to determine how South Africa can implement and regulate cabotage in comparison to its trade partners. Strict cabotage as adopted in China was indicated as the appropriate course for South Africa. Although the aim was to establish which of the two cabotage regimes would support the development of a merchant fleet, there were vital lessons to be learned from both China and India cabotage regimes. It is therefore recommended for South Africa to take cognisance of the current status of the ship registry in view of the requirements of a strict cabotage regime on building, ownership, flagging, crewing and manning of the cabotage ships in South Africa.
Development of the South African coastal shipping policy: the prospect of maritime cabotage.
(2020) Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.; Jones, Trevor Brian.; Wallis, Malcolm John David.
The Comprehensive Maritime Transport Policy (CMTP) provides the official policy position on maritime issues in South Africa since 2017. It covers a variety of maritime matters relating to shipping conduct on the coast and offshore and extends to the utilisation of landside resources. However, this work evaluates policy provisions pertaining only to coastal shipping and in particular to cabotage. Cabotage refers to the rights a coastal state reserves for itself to trade vessels of its choice between ports along its coast. The CMTP states cabotage as the official coastal shipping policy in South Africa for the first time in over a century-and-a-half of coastal shipping. However, the CMTP does not state the manner in which cabotage will apply. In fact, some of its ambitions seem impractical. Through a thorough historical account, the thesis sheds light on why cabotage has never been adopted in South Africa. It also gives the rationale for abandoning in 2017 the laissez-faire position that had existed over many decades. Given that cabotage presents itself in different forms, the thesis provides an overview of the various cabotage forms by reference to a sample of comparable jurisdictions. It then asks the question: what is the prospect of South African cabotage in light of the continental and international cabotage practice scope? The question directs focus to three issues: the meaning of cabotage; the scope of its application; and the comparative measure for its application. The analysis gleans the likely direction for cabotage implementation from the CMTP and other instruments despite anomalies that exist between what the CMTP sets out to achieve and the proposed legal framework for its implementation. The conclusion is that, given the dearth of shipping capacity in South Africa, coastal trade dependence on feeder cargo and imbalanced cargo trades, the country’s only proper option, when cabotage is adopted, is liberal cabotage. It should be implemented without comparing South Africa to other jurisdictions but must be founded on its own merits and that such should show a ready source of cargo.
The potential impact of maritime autonomous surface ships on seafarer employment.
(2021) Nkuna, Euclid.; Meyiwa, Ayanda.; Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.
In search of ways to run their ships more efficiently and safer, Shipowners are looking at limiting human involvement by employing maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). The MASS levels of autonomy, which will result in varying degrees of human involvement reduction, are still being defined by various bodies. To assist all parties involved in this journey of MASS development and introduction, some classification societies are creating regulatory and guiding documents or instruments. Meanwhile, policymakers globally have their eye on the Blue Economy as a source of solutions to many problems, chief amongst which is employment. Also known as the Oceans Economy, Blue Economy will result in higher demand for transport of goods and persons to, from, and through the sea. Seafarer job increases are therefore among policymakers’ targets. This dissertation seeks to investigate the potential impact that the successful introduction of MASS will have on seafarer employment. It does this by analysing five classification instruments to see if there is convergence in their approaches toward MASS introduction. The five instruments are dissected for in-depth exploration before being transformed into a standardized format for comparison against each other. This standardized format maps the involvement of humans, a ship’s systems, or a combination of both for some six selected functions – themes – that define a vessel’s autonomy. The format also maps the physical locations of human beings for each degree of autonomy per document covered analyzed. The findings predict strong convergence in the MASS adoption approaches, which certifies that the world is aligned in its thinking. From this convergence, it is inferred that collaborative approaches, whether direct or indirect, will result which in turn will improve the chances of successful MASS introduction. The reduction in seafarer employment, which will result based on the convergence established will however be non-linear: It will start at a slower pace as with lower autonomy saturation in the market. As time advances, more MASS and ships with higher autonomy degrees will be built increasing autonomy saturation in the market. At some point, lower seafarer employment will emerge, exacerbated by the decline of today’s conventional ships which will be demolished as they reach the ends of their useful lives. Each demolition will result in job losses. When the market is saturated with autonomy – meaning that almost all ships are fully autonomous – mariner employment will be minimal and Remote Control Centre (RCC) based. As much as 95% of the peak of mariner employment (yet to be reached) will be lost when this MASS full saturation is reached. The timeline will depend strongly on the speed of technological advances. Policymakers are advised to take caution with the employment prospects of mariners. Shipowners and builders are advised to collaborate on a global scale to speed up and synchronize MASS development. Training and educational institutions are advised to gear up for teaching skills required for MASS. Maritime legislators are advised to keep a close eye on legislation development aimed at accommodating MASS. Finally, Further research on timelines for MASS implementation is recommended. This will clarify the rate at which employment will evolve in the sector.
Techniques implemented to meet the demands of custom modernisation and trade facilitation in South Africa.
(2021) Luthuli, Nomvelo Philile.; Dlamini, Langa Hewitt.
South Africa has been an actively participating member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 1 January 1995 as well as that of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 13 June 1948, and an official member of the World Customs Organization (WCO) since 24 March 1964. By signing these conventions, South Africa indicated its intention to take the necessary steps to abide by the terms of the conventions. In the same sense, South Africa committed to refrain from acts that would defeat the objectives and purpose of the conventions, given that these conventions have a binding effect on signatories. The South African Revenue Services, Customs and Excise department is administered and regulated in terms of the Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964. The extensive evolution of technology over the past 50 years rendered the statute obsolete and inept, thus beckoning the basis of its amendment in forming new legislation. The revised legislation would align with international best practice; as customs authorities globally had since modernised systems, including legislation, in line with the advancing technology. The anticipated new Customs Control Act 31 of 2014 adheres to the demands of the conventions also being propelled by the advancing technology, which ensures additional benefits to support the South African National Development Plan (NDP) in the promotion of exports, business competitiveness and the stimulation of domestic activity. However, this legislation alongside the Customs Duty Act 30 of 2014 and the Customs and Excise Amendment Act 32 of 2014, issued in the Government Gazette in July 2014, will be enforced on a date to be decided on by the President. This dissertation aimed to recognise comparative attributes of countries that have implemented best customs practices and their possible relationships with practices explored in South Africa. The focus of this research is given to the customs administration situation of the Republic, within the greater context of transport management. Techniques linked to South Africa customs legislation, together with those implemented by the country considered as having the „best practices‟ as defined by international organisations are explored.