South African MLA: Annual Conference

The Maritime Law Association of South Africa (MLASA) hosted its annual conference at the end of August 2023.Delegates and presenters – including guest speakers from London, Belgium and Singapore – congregated at Pumula Beach Hotel near Durban, where they were enthralled by the seasonal humpback whale migration, quite fitting given the theme “Towards Greener Shipping”. Honorary guests were retired Supreme Court of Appeal Justices Harms and Wallis. Judge Harms delivered the keynote address on arbitration, a topic of particular interest to the MLASA as it has recently developed its own maritime arbitration platform.  Captains Nicolas Sloane and Guy Barker gave a moving tribute to the legendary “SA Amandla” (formerly “John Ross”), reportedly the fastest tug in the world, which was retired this year after 48 years of stellar service.

Representatives of the MLASA will participate in the National Department of Transport’s inaugural Maritime Legislation Stakeholders Consultation Week in late November/early December 2023, at which certain draft maritime legislation will be considered and discussed. The MLASA continues to promote transformation of the profession in South Africa with inter alia its mentorship programmes, lecture series for young lawyers and bursaries for post-graduate maritime study.