The multipurpose platform supply and support vessel Greatship Manisha – operating out of the port of Mossel Bay – became the third ship to be registered on the South African Ships Registry. The vessel was registered on the 14th March 2017.

It is the first ship to be registered by the Cape Town-based Marine Crew Services (MCS) which has chartered the vessel as part of its two-year contract with petroleum company PetroSA.

Two South Africans have been serving on the vessel – which was previously registered in Singapore – and the move to the South African Ships Register will lead to a further seven South African seafarers joining the vessel upon registration.

MCS aimed to eventually have a 100% local crew complement aboard the 4 600-deadweight tonne (DWT) vessel, said company CEO Daniel Ngubane. Provision had been made to take six South African trainee cadets on board once the ship had been officially recognised as a maritime training vessel by the South African Maritime Authority (SAMSA), he added.
Ngubane pointed out that MCS had, for the past 14 years, successfully trained and placed close to 900 South Africans — ranging from officers to cadets – on local and international vessels.

He said the company also provided bursaries to Lawhill Maritime Centre graduates (www.lawhill.org) for enrollment in tertiary maritime studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

According to him, the local registration of the Greatship Manisha offers opportunities for young South Africans who have completed their theoretical training to obtain the required practical experience at sea that completes their international qualification.