From Preface: For the best part of a generation the "Shipping Question" was a talking-point in South Africa; yet today it is completely forgotten, and the name of its leading actor is virtually unknown. Scant reference to the controversy will be found in economic- or other histories; in the rare cases where it is alluded to, the treatment is superficial. This study seeks to fill that gap. At the outset it is advisable to define the scope of the work. It is not a history of the South African shipping trade in the pre-1914 era: shiplovers have had that ground amply covered by Marischal Murray, and indeed are unlikely to find in the following pages much to their taste. Neither is it an economic analysis of shipping conferences: there is a growing body of work on that subject, and this study does not seek to add to it. Nor is it a business history: it does not probe the structure, the management or the profitability of shipping enterprise in the period concerned. A full-scale discussion of these latter topics would be a major undertaking in its own right, nor is it at all certain that the necessary materials are accessible or even extant. In short, the study is concerned with the origins, the course and the outcome of the "Shipping Question" of the period 1886-1914. Documentation for a controversy that was essentially mercantile in its origins and its first dimensions might be thought to be patchy and sparse; but it is gratifying to record that a substantial volume of material has been uncovered. The newspapers and periodicals of the time, especially in the period before the Boer War, devoted much more attention to shipping than has since been usual; The British and South African Export Gazette, South Africa, The African Review, and the London edition of The Cape Argus have been of particular value. In that era, again, the Chambers of Commerce occupied a more prominent position in their communities than they seem to do now, and their meetings were reported at length, often to the extent of several columns of newsprint; these reports have been of great assistance. It is fortunate, moreover, that the papers of two of the leading protagonists on the South African side have survived: the Garlick Papers and the Jagger Papers, now housed in the University of Cape Town Libraries; these, while perhaps not as full as might have been hoped, have shed a good deal of light on mercantile thinking and strategy. If the controversy had been confined to the mercantile sector, however, it would scarcely justify detailed investigation. It entered also into the sphere of government and politics and it came to assume an Imperial dimension; and in these aspects it is pleasingly well documented in official primary sources. The papers of prominent public figures, furthermore, have yielded some valuable insights and, in some cases, the documents that rightfully belong in official repositories! The minutes of one of the corporate bodies to the dispute - the South African Merchants' Committee in London - are still extant, and they have been of great use in supplementing the (sometimes condensed) versions of the Committee's proceedings that are available from newspaper- and other sources. While disappointingly attenuated in some areas, the records of the Union-Castle Line have been alike fascinating and indispensable. The papers of Percy Molteno, a member of the Line's management and one of the leading actors in the second part of this study, form a valuable supplement to the records. One cause for regret has been the absence of primary sources emanating from the other shipping lines involved in the controversy. The Union- Castle Line was the dominant partner in the trade, and will therefore occupy the centre of the stage; but its colleagues' records would have been useful in perhaps correcting undue emphases or false perspectives.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Business Administration)-Dept. of Management, Durban University of Technology, 2006 ix, 154 leaves / The challenges of the 21st century have influenced the transportation of growing cargo volumes at ports that intercept major shipping routes along the coastline of Southern Africa (McCan, 2003:32-34). In view of these challenges, rivalry between ports along the coast of Southern Africa has increased (Nevin, 1998:27-28). Empirical research focuses on the financial management, management processes and competitive attributes at the port of Durban, South Africa. The primary objective investigates the impact that the nature of port administration had on the competitiveness of the port.

D.Com. (Transport Economics) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Thesis (M.Tech.: Business Administration)-Dept. of Management, Durban University of Technology, 2006 ix, 154 leaves / The challenges of the 21st century have influenced the transportation of growing cargo volumes at ports that intercept major shipping routes along the coastline of Southern Africa (McCan, 2003:32-34). In view of these challenges, rivalry between ports along the coast of Southern Africa has increased (Nevin, 1998:27-28). Empirical research focuses on the financial management, management processes and competitive attributes at the port of Durban, South Africa. The primary objective investigates the impact that the nature of port administration had on the competitiveness of the port.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The South African Maritime Industry has, as well as other industry sectors, recently been exposed to the dynamics that have been brought about by the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Policy which has become law in South Africa. The nature of the policy has created a situation where it (the policy itself) needs to have attention apportioned to it. The attention has been directed towards the implementation of the policy by the shipping companies. In addition, there has been attention directed towards compliance with the legislation that polices Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment. The government's requirement that the South African maritime industry generates a strategy document led to the adoption, by the industry's major role players, of the Maritime Transport & Service Industry Black Economic Empowerment Charter. The purpose of this research work is to investigate and create an understanding whether the aspirations of the above mentioned charter are realistic and feasible to achieve when, the nature of the shipping industry and other maritime related businesses, is considered. Does the way in which the shipping business operates make it easy for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment to be implemented in the way proposed by the charter? The qualitative theory generating approach is adopted on the research. In the design of this research work a case. study is done where a major shipping company, Island View Shipping was studied. The aim is to consider issues that affect the maritime industry as viewed from inside the business environment. Semi-structured interviews are also conducted with the individuals at Island View Shipping who have, for many years, played (working in different levels/positions and working for different companies almost all over the world) major roles in the company itself and in the industry in general. Data analysis is based on the inductive reasoning approach where themes are created and analyzed. The conclusions and recommendations are divided according to themes that are identified in Chapter Five. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The increasing financial pressures exerted on ship owners in recent years due to cost inflation, overtonnage and low freight rates in many sectors, have forced ship owners to increase cost savings and contain costs. That induced certain shipowners to operate substandard ships. The cost advantages in substandard ships are through failing to maintain safety equipment and procedures, employing cheap and untrained crews, repairing only essential equipment on breakdown and register under flags that do not comply with all the international regulatory, economic and social requirements for ships. Those ships undercut the true costs of operating a ship and eventually drive the obedient shipowner out of the market at the cost of safe and clean seas. Because of the complex international environment in which shipping operates an international regulatory framework is needed to ensure safety at sea. This assignment gives a layout of that framework, which is co-ordinated by the International Maritime Organisation (!MO), as well as the ways in which it is implemented and regulated in individual countries, with reference to South Africa. The functioning of the South African Maritime Safety Agency (SAMSA), which has been established on 1 April 1998, is also discussed. The benefit of safe ports is highlighted and also the cost savings in marine insurance if ships are classified as safe. A brief description of the navigation instruments that SAMSA use to assist in achieving maritime safety is given. Finally, the diseconomies of substandard ships are debated against quality ships for cleaner seas. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die toenemende finansiële druk op skeepseienaars, as gevolg van koste inflasie, oortonnemaat en lae vragtariewe in verskeie sektore, het hulle gedwing om oor die laaste aantal jare hul kostes te beperk. Gedwonge kostebesparings gee aanleiding daartoe dat sekere skeepseienaars onveilige skepe bedryf. Kostevoordele in onveilige skepe word bereik deur veiligheidstoerusting en -prosedures nie in stand te hou nie, goedkoop en onopgeleide bemanning aan te stel, slegs die nodige herstelwerk aan toerusting te doen en deur te registreer onder vlae wat nie voldoen aan internasionale regulering, ekonomiese en sosiale vereistes vir skepe nie. Eienaars van sulke skepe, onderskruip die ware bedryfskoste van 'n skip en uiteindelik dryf dit die wetsgetroue skeepseienaars uit die mark ten koste van 'n veilige en skoon see. As gevolg van die komplekse internasionale omgewmg waann skeepvaart funksioneer, word 'n internasionale reguleringsraamwerk benodig om veiligheid ter see te verseker. Hierdie werkstuk gee 'n uitleg van daardie raamwerk, wat gekoordineer word deur die Internasionale Maritieme Organisasie (!MO), asook die manier waarop dit geïmplementeer en gereguleer word in individuele lande met verwysing tot Suid-Afrika. Die funksionering van die Suid-Afrikaanse Maritieme Veiligheids Agentskap (SAMSA), wat tot stand gebring is op 1 April 1998, word bespreek. Die voordele van veilige hawens word uitgelig, sowel as die besparings in maritieme versekeringskoste indien 'n skip as veilig geklassifiseer word. 'n Kort beskrywing van navigasie-instrumente wat SAMSA gebruik om maritieme veiligheid te bewerkstellig, word kortliks bespreek. Ten slotte, die dis-ekonomie van onveilige skepe word gedebateer teenoor die kwaliteit van skepe vir 'n skoner see.

The maritime sector plays an important role in economies across the globe. Ports in particular are the backbone of the economy of countries endowed with shorelines as they facilitate foreign trade through the importation and exportation of goods to and from their domestic markets. South Africa’s latest addition to its complimentary ports system, the Port of Ngqura, is positioned as a container transshipment hub and a gateway port to Africa with its world-class infrastructure and deep-water container berths at 18 metres, the deepest on the African continent. Ports, whose main mandate is the container commodity, struggle to retain customers as the container industry is a fickle one. As a result, the retention of transshipment container cargo customers remain a challenge for ports. In recent years, ports have to compete more aggressively for their participation in major logistics networks and these days, the ports of the same region are increasingly competing with each other. There are clusters of ports with the same type of supply located within a region competing with other clusters of ports in other regions. The main objective of this study was to propose a customer retention framework for the Port of Ngqura to be used as part of the marketing strategy to possibly retain customers, grow market share and to increase profits. The study focused on the effect of components such as value proposition, customer service quality, customer satisfaction, customer relationship management and customer loyalty on customer retention. After the exercise of testing statistical reliability, the researcher established that the measuring instrument for the component of value proposition was deemed unreliable and therefore, does not necessarily lead to customer retention for the Port of Ngqura. Nunnally (1978) recommends that instruments used in basic research have reliability of 0.70 or higher. The Cronbach Alpha score for the value proposition measuring scale was 0.41, which is below the recommended 0.70. The measuring instruments of the remaining four components of customer service quality, customer satisfaction, customer relationship management and customer loyalty as influencers of customer retention proved to be reliable due to the Cronbach Alpha score being above the recommended 0.70 for all four measuring instruments. In conclusion, this study showed the importance of customer retention and more importantly, how the mentioned reliable four components affect customer retention at the Port of Ngqura. Recommendations were presented by the author on how to integrate the components of customer retention into a retention framework that can contribute to the profitability of the port. The findings of this study led to the recommendation of the need for the Port of Ngqura to firstly, incorporate customer retention into overall marketing strategy and to thus be aggressive as customer relationship building is crucial in retaining customers and growing market share in today’s competitive port environment. Secondly, the port needs to segment its target customers, it is recommended that the target market be well defined, understood and segmented based on industry (shipping line, clearing and forwarding agency, fruit, automotive or wool) and amount of volumes and revenue brought to the Port of Ngqura. Thirdly, leadership involvement as at the strategic level of Transnet Group and Transnet National Ports Authority, executive leaders need to be involved in the implementation of customer retention for marketing of the port as they are the ones that have a high delegation of authority when it comes to decision making. It is also recommended that the measurement of success be clearly defined and linked to the objectives for the implementation of customer retention. The marketers and the Port of Ngqura, using customer relationship strategies, should devise ways of measuring loyalty to the port and the brand, the reputation of the port, service quality and customer satisfaction. Employee training is the most critical recommendation as they must be well trained and equipped to execute their duties, they must be knowledgeable about the maritime industry as well as the business of their customers, fully understand their customers’ needs and have customer empathy. Ports can also improve service quality by focusing on port and terminal efficiency by conducting benchmark studies with high ranked ports like the Port of Singapore as they are known for high levels of efficiency in the market. By improving service quality, the port will improve customer satisfaction and achieve customer loyalty and ultimately, retention.