Stringent enforcement of regulations has meant some barges have not been able to operate on East London’s Nahoon River.
But while some barge owners have welcomed the strict measures being implemented by a South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) officer, others say they are losing money hand over fist.
Samsa principal officer captain Emile van der Merwe said they had received several complaints about vessels operating on the Nahoon River.
“The complaints could not verify which vessels they believed to be transgressing nor specify the markings on any of the vessels,” he said.
“Subsequently I took the decision to conduct some ad hoc inspections as per the mandate of Samsa.
“Samsa is required to conduct a minimum number of ad hoc inspections per annum to achieve our mandates [safe ships, clean seas] under the transport department.”
He said several vessels had been found without the proper safety certifications.
“[They] have as a consequence been detained until such time as they comply fully with regulations. Other vessels were found to be in order and were not detained,” Van der Merwe said.
He said inspections had also been done on the Buffalo and Kowie rivers in the past few weeks.
“Samsa is obliged to follow up any complaints we receive regarding the safe conduct of vessels on the waterways of SA.”
But a skipper who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of intimidation said he was struggling.
“I took bookings for October and November but I’ve since had to return the money. I’m only doing provisional bookings for December without taking a deposit,” he said.
“Covid-19 set us back lot and the Samsa office was closed during the period, so we couldn’t do anything.
“I know he [the Samsa captain] wants to do the right thing but it’s hard to communicate with him because it’s only done by e-mail. The list of things to check off isn’t clear.”
The barge owner said an inspection of his barge would come at a hefty cost as a crane was needed to lift it out the water.
The skipper has not been operating his cruise business since October 17.
“I’ve had a loss in turnover and owe people money for services done to the barge,” he said.
“There are about 27 barges on the Nahoon River, most of them privately owned. This regulation means you can’t take friends or family out on the river.”
But another Nahoon River barge owner, who will be back on the river soon, said it was “was very much needed to have a [Samsa] captain like this”.
“I'm happy to be back as my life was turned upside down — I just want to focus on the positives,” he said, not wanting to comment further.
Some of the barges on the Nahoon River have often assisted in river clean-ups.
Residents and their workers have been out in force cleaning up the Nahoon River as sewage and litter continue to pollute it.
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