The Bowmans Shipping Podcast

The 2022 underwater images of the wreck of the Endurance in pristine condition under the Antarctic ice graced the front pages of the press across the world and captured the imagination of young and old. In this episode, we speak with Captain Freddie Ligthelm; one of the men responsible for piloting the polar vessel S.A. Agulhas II through the ice on the expedition to find the sunken ship. He gives us a detailed account of the mission and what it took to achieve their goal.

A series of unfortunate events in the last 18 months have rattled the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa - home to the crucial gateways of Durban and Richards Bay. Coming at a time when supply chains worldwide were already under considerable strain from the aftershocks of Covid 19 or other events, the riots and floods had a crippling effect on the movement of goods and the local economy. In this episode, Jeremy Prain and Andrew Pike (partners in the Shipping & Logistics team at Bowmans) discuss and attempt to make sense of the practical and legal implications of these events . They also consider how these calamities might accelerate policy shifts by the SA government to liberalise port and terminal operations, and the opportunities presented to the private sector.

In May 2021, the X-Press Pearl caught fire 18 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka and spilled 1680 tons of spherical pieces of plastic or “nurdles”; the preproduction plastic used to manufacture a wide range of end products. The incident sparked world-wide attention to the environmental dangers posed by these little balls of plastic, which could lead to tighter international regulations for those involved in the shipment of this product. In this episode, I speak to my partner at Bowmans, Lana Stockton, who has extensive experience responding to nurdle spills off the coast of South Africa. We discuss, amongst other things, the legal and practical implications for ship owners, charterers and other affected parties as they negotiate fines, clean-ups and other challenges with the authorities and regulators.

While the world's gaze is fixed on Ukraine and Russia, we try to make sense of the war's effect and the legal implications for the trade in commodities. Joining us is guest, Andrew Buchmann, a partner in the commodities team at international law firm, Hill Dickinson. Specifically, we discuss the practical challenges for trade execution and the shipping of grain and energy commodities, as well as the impact of sanctions and embargoes; all through a legal lens. To learn more about Andrew Buchmann, click through to https://www.hilldickinson.com/people/andrew-buchmann

Capt Ann Till forged a career in shipping straight out of school at the age of 16 and rose through the ranks to gain her certification as Master Mariner while working for Maersk Supply Service on their Anchor Handler and Platform Supply fleet. She is now the Chief Vessel Operator for Ocean Infinity, responsible for turning robotic uncrewed vessels from concept to reality. Ocean Infinity has developed hybrid-powered robotic ships ranging from 21-78m in length. Their new Armada Fleet is being designed and built to be remotely-operated for both maritime and payload operations, equipped with a wide range of sensor packages, from hydrographic spreads to full Work-class Remotely Operated Vehicle capability, with all operational and scientific data fed to their state-of-the-art Remote Control Centres. We talk to Ann about the brave new world of autonomous ships; what its like to be a woman at sea; and the work she does behind the scenes to make shipping a safer and better career for all.

In this interview with Dr Evert Kleynhans, we unveil the details of the u-boat campaigns off the coast of South Africa in 1942/43 during World War 2; principally Operation Eisbar, which played out around the Cape of Good Hope, and discuss his new book, Hitler’s Spies: Secret Agents and the Intelligence War in South Africa, in which he analyses the link between the u-boat campaigns and the pro-German spy network operating in Southern Africa during the war. Evert Kleynhans is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University (South Africa). He is also the Editor of the journal Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies, and he serves as the Assistant Director of the Southern African Chapter of the Second World War Research Group. His latest book is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers and is available for purchase through Amazon and other retailers.

The National Ports Authority of South Africa is about to undergo an important corporate and legal restructure. In this episode we speak to a former member of the Ports Regulator of South Africa and Bowmans partner, Andrew Pike, as he takes us through the changes and explains why they matter.

When the massive passenger liner, Costa Concordia, ran aground on the island of Giglio off the Italian coast in 2012, Captain Nicholas Sloane took on the challenge of leading a team to parbuckle and refloat her off the rocks before delivering her to the yard in Genoa for scapping. It was the most complex and expensive refloating job ever undertaken. The successful operation earned him the Cavaliere del Lavoro della Repubblica Italiana, an Italian order of knighthood; and the Deutscher Meerespreis 2015 (German Ocean Award). Having reached the milestone of 60 years old and soon to be President of the International Salvage Union, we speak to Nick about his life in salvage and get his thoughts on the Ever Given grounding in the Suez Canal, the state of the salvage market and his ambition to catch an iceberg!

In his characteristically understated way, Brian Ingpen considers himself lucky to have lived a life combining his hobby, his passion and his profession into one: teaching children about ships. What should not go unsaid, however, is that Brian spent most his adult life at the forefront of maritime education in South Africa, half of which was as the head of Lawhill Maritime Centre; a boarding house affiliated with Simon's Town School which teaches Maritime Economics and Nautical Science to students aged approximately 15 to 17 and provides them with specialised knowledge and practical skills. We speak to Brian as he reflects on his childhood amongst the Cape Town docks; his life at Lawhill; and his new book. Cape Town Docklands: Cameos of Shipping can be purchased by emailing Brian Ingpen at brian@capeports.co.za For more about Lawhill Maritime Centre, see http://www.lawhill.org/

To this day, the rescue of over 200 passengers and crew from the stricken Oceanos in 1991 remains one of the great, but often overlooked, events in recent maritime history. We speak to Andrew Pike, author and maritime lawyer, about his book on the incident and how he reignited interest in the story and brought it to the attention of a new generation of readers and shipping enthusiasts. The book is available for purchase at: https://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Pike/e/B00A1M3ZG8%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

Stories of seafarers stuck on ships has been a constant refrain of the Covid 19 pandemic within the shipping world and, indeed, the broader press across the world. Bowmans partner, Lana Stockton, has been at the forefront of repatriation for crew, passengers and stowaways from the start of the lockdowns. She talks about her experiences and challenges in this pressurized environment as well as the physical and mental health issues affecting crew and the long overdue attention now being paid to their wellbeing on board ships.

Shipping lawyer at Bowmans, Craig Cunningham, explains why Namibia is the hidden gem when it comes to banks and financiers in search of a user-friendly jurisdiction for structured workouts for distressed shipping loans. The jurisdiction has all the benefits and flexibility of South Africa, but none of the downsides of poor ship mortgage ranking.