SAMSA drops out of ship management bid

Three companies vie for DFFE ship management contract

SOUTH AFRICA: In a surprising turn of events, SAMSA Maritime Special Projects (MSP) is not listed amongst the bidders for the ship management contract to run the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE) SA Agulhas II and Algoa which closed earlier this month.

The MSP was created as a special purpose vehicle to take over the management of the DFFE’s (then Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) patrol and research vessels in 2014. At the time, the leadership of the special vehicle confirmed that the entity would be seeking to take on the management of all state-owned vessels.

The Ruth First, Victoria Mxenge, Sarah Baartman, Ellen Khuzwayo, Lilian Ngoyi and Africana have remained under the management of MSP since they were transferred from Nautic 11 years ago, and no further tenders have been issued to reconsider this status quo.

The tender for management of the SA Agulhas II and the Algoa has, however, been issued on several occasions over the last two years, with the latest version being published in April this year with a closing date of 23 May 2025.

The DFFE released the list of bidders yesterday revealing the three companies who have responded to this round of bidding. With a bid price slightly below their previous two submissions, AMSOL Group remains the only company to have responded to all three tender bids.

The compulsory briefing, which was held on 23 April and was not attended by SAMSA MSP, attracted several companies that did not go on to submit a bid. These include Angle Eastern Ship Management, J*S Maritime, GM Solution, OSC Marine Group, Ankile Services, Harbour Harmony, Philindu Group, and Galela Energy.

The briefing, which provided background on the services undertaken by the two vessels, also highlighted the possible replacement of the RV Algoa. Describing the 52 year old vessel as “old, unreliable and vulnerable”, the DFFE’s presentation to potential bidders highlighted that a process to replace the vessel was likely to be initiated during the term of the management programme.

PHOTO: The RV Algoa, which forms part of the DFFE’s ship management bid is likely to be replaced during the term of the contract. (PHOTO © Maritime Review Africa)

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