Maritime Studies

Starting in 2020, all students studying for the new Bachelor of Marine Engineering and Bachelor of Nautical Science must pass the SAMSA Eyesight test and Medical Examination for Seafarers before being allowed to register.

Also, ALL STUDENTS are required to be in uniform when on Campus.

The Department of Maritime Studies at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) was established in 1886, when HMS Thames and her sister ships Forth, Mersey, and Severn were launched. They were the first modern cruisers of the British Royal Navy.

Thomas Benjamin Frederick David, an English businessman, acquired the HMS Thames and donated it to the Union of South Africa in May 1921. The vessel was renamed South African Training Ship (SATS): General Botha, after the first premier of the Union, General Louis Botha, who had died in 1919. Davis wished that the SATS: General Botha should be utilised to train cadets at sea. After the SATS: General Botha decommissioned on 13 May 1947, cadet training was temporarily transferred to Red Hill, Simon’s Town, before the training establishment moved to the South African Naval College: General Botha, in Gordon’s Bay in April 1948.

In 1961, the Department of Defence handed over the Great Mouille Point Battery (Granger Bay) on the seaward side of Beach Road to the Department of Education, Arts and Science. The site was earmarked for constructing a “stone frigate” to train white youths for both the SA Navy and the Merchant Navy, per Section 76 of the Merchant Shipping Act. The training establishment, known as the South African Merchant Navy Academy (SAMNA): General Botha and designed by Cape Town architect Neville Louw, was occupied on 30 March 1966.

During the 1980s, economic constraints, including sanctions imposed on South Africa and the technology explosion, caused a decline in shipboard crews and enrolments at SAMNA: General Botha. In 1990, it merged with the then Cape Technikon and various diplomas and degree programmes were established.

On 1 January 2005, the Cape Technikon and the Peninsula Technikon merged to become the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. This site is now known as the Granger Bay Campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

The Granger Bay Campus also hosts the Survival Centre, a practical training centre where sea-going students receive training and offer various short courses.

The Survival Centre is fully equipped with three enclosed lifeboats, two open lifeboats, a rigid capsule, two fast rescue craft, a heated 12 x 7m pool, a dunker for underwater escape training, a range of different life rafts, life jackets, immersion suits, EPIRBs, SARTs, videos, and much more.

Students who complete their training in Maritime Studies can be employed as Navigators by the Merchant Navy. Their tasks include navigating duties, supervising cargo operations in ports, and maintaining safety equipment. This qualification is recognised internationally and provides the opportunity for young South Africans to sail as a Navigating Officer and ultimately Ship’s Master worldwide.

Students who complete their studies in maritime engineering can be employed as marine engineers by the Merchant Navy. Tasks include Marine Engineering watchkeeping duties, programmed maintenance of the marine engineer propulsion plant, and auxiliary equipment. This qualification is recognised internationally and allows young South Africans to sail as Engineering Officers and, ultimately, Chief Engineers worldwide.