Cape Town: Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth and Tourism – Alderman James Vos represented the City of Cape Town at the inaugural African Boating Conference while sharing insights on how localisation and collaboration can power the growth of South Africa’s boat-building industry.
The inaugural two-day African Boating Conference was held at the V&A Waterfront to bring together the boat-builders, maritime media and other role-players looking to explore the opportunities and challenges facing marine manufacturing in Africa.
Reportedly, the conference was hosted in partnership with BlueCape, with Special Purpose Vehicle of the City of Cape Town to develop the industry profile of Cape Town.
In his opening address on the state of the industry in South Africa – Alderman James Vos stated that nationally, the building of ships and boats sector employed 3,780 full-time equivalent jobs by March 2024 with Cape Town hosting about 65% of those jobs over nine years.
In terms of exports, in year 2024, R4.3 billion worth of Cape Town-made ships, boats and floating structures were ordered by foreign clients. The dominant export product that year was yachts or pleasure vessels, making up 96% of boat exports in 2024.
Notably, this category has grown by 21.7% since 2015, highlighting the massive global demand for locally manufactured marine goods. Cape Town’s boat-builders have clearly hooked a growing market of international clients seeking out the manufacturers’ innovative designs and the quality of craftsmanship.
Vos highlighted that the local industry faces a major challenge with the recent enactment of a 30% US tariff on South African products. In four of the last five years, the US has been the dominant export market for Cape Town’s boats, accounting for 30% of the city’s total marine vessel exports in 2024.
They must act immediately and decisively to mitigate the effects of this tariff. They must diversify the export markets and seek out the opportunities of trade agreements such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
James Vos said that they can also further increase jobs by growing local suppliers for components such as engines, electronics, and composites. Whereas the investors, boatbuilders, tertiary institutions, and government agencies need to sit at the table regularly and align on how to address industry development bottlenecks, such as skills shortages or manufacturing processes.
The City of Cape Town is leading on this front through the funding and partnership with BlueCape. This specialised entity focuses on research and skills development in all areas of marine manufacturing, including boat-building, superyachts, and ocean sports, and how that links to related industries.
Cape Town has the raw materials, skilled people, existing marine yards, significant infrastructure investment by the local government, and a City of Cape Town’s leadership committed to growing the ocean economy for the benefit of all the communities.