Can South Africa deliver Implementing the Marine Oil Pollution Bill?
Maritime Review Africa
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A meeting of the NCOP Committee on Public Infrastructure & Minister in the Presidency this month discussed written submissions on the Marine Oil Pollution Bill and agreed to invite stakeholders in 2025 to present oral submissions.
Noting that there are less than 10,000 breeding pairs of African penguins left in South Africa and Namibia the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) submission to the committee welcomed the bill, but highlighted their concern about the government’s capacity to implement various activities listed in the bill.
SANCCOB is calling for the ship-to-ship fuel transfers to be specifically referenced within the Bill as a high risk operation alongside oil and gas exploration and other activities within the offshore oil and gas sector. They are also asking for an oiled wildlife contingency plan to be included as an Appendix for Oil Spill Contingency Plans.
SANCCOB’s submission also raises concerns over budgetary issues as well as access to funds in the event of an incident. They are also concerned about how response initiatives will be funded in cases where no polluter is identified as well as how disputes will be managed.
A combined submission from the Biodiversity Law Centre (BLC), SANCCOB BirdLife South Africa (BLSA), ?and The Green Connection and Natural Justice raised particular concerns around the STS bunkering operations in Algoa Bay. ?
They contend that the definition of an offshore installation should be amended to include any mechanism of vessel that is used for the transfer or storage of a substance involved in bunkering operations. They also want to see ship-to-ship transfer of fuel and offshore bunkering listed under operations that require an environmental impact assessment.
BLSA, together with SANCCOB, is working with scientists and engineers at Nelson Mandela University, the University of Paris, and the University of Cape Town to develop technologies to monitor the impacts of marine noise pollution on coastal and seabirds, including African Penguins, in Algoa Bay. In addition, BLSA is engaged with an Automated Penguin Monitoring System to gauge the response of penguins to human activities in the bay.
Parties are also calling for improved clarity on the responsibilities of South African flagged ships – highlighting that the Bill is not clear on its application in this regard.
The written responses also call for clarity on certain wording and language used within the bill as well as how incident response will be managed as well as under what circumstances it will be terminated.
The deadline for submitting written responses was 30 November.
The Bill provides for the processes to regulate and manage the preparedness and response to major marine oil pollution incidents at the national level and as well as cooperation with other countries as necessary and appropriate. Areas of co-operation included are development of contingency plans, research, training and exercise programmes.
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QUESTION TO: Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition
What total number of jobs have been lost in the steel industry in the past five years due to the closure of steel plants and is the turnaround strategy to re-open steel factories and protect the local steel industry from excessive imports of steel from abroad?
ANSWER:
In the past five years, due to the global steel overcapacity and the domestic pressures (inclusive of raising input costs; sluggish growth; and subdued demand), South Africa has seen the closure/ mothballing of the Vereeniging works; Saldanha works and SA Steel mini-mill (which is currently under business rescue.
According to the South African Iron and Steel Institute (SAISI), the total number of jobs lost at primary steel plants in South Africa over the past five years are 7,876. The total direct employment at steel mills in 2019 was 26,504; jobs declining to 18,628 currently in 2024.
The decrease is due to closure of the Arcelormittal South Africa’s Saldanha and Vereeniging plants and the Evraz Highveld Steel plant. In addition, rationalisation across the industry has also contributed to the decline in jobs with current plant capacity utilisation averaging at 55%.
A turnaround strategy needs to take heed of the fact that the global primary steel industry remains fragile. There is a global steel overcapacity; growing geo-political tensions; and protectionist measures, are continuously being deployed.
The South African Government has established the Steel Master Plan, as approved in June 2021. This is an action-oriented plan, based on identified competitiveness improvements in firms, measures to support localisation and initiatives to reposition the industry to be resilient under intense local and global pressures. The plan is being implemented through a social compact between the steel industry, labour and government. Some of the measures include:
These interventions have, however, not been adequate to improve the long-term viability and sustainability of the value chain and the primary production in particular. On 20 November 2024, the Department convened an industry-wide engagement to discuss a new form of partnership to address the binding constraints that hold-back the full potential of the value chain.
In that engagement, it was agreed that a new strategy would be anchored on a few critical interventions; with clear medium to long-term targets; and measurable outcomes. It is envisaged that a fully consulted and consolidated strategy will be ready in the first half of 2025.
The need to protect the local industry from imports – particularly import leakage that includes illegal trade issues in the steel value chain. Ongoing collaborative work with industry, SARS and ITAC; is being undertaken in this regard.