It’s a dream come true for a South African boat builder who reached for the stars and landed a deal to retrieve astronauts returning from the International Space Station (ISS).
Gemini Marine CEO Gerhard Neethling this week confirmed a boat export deal with SpaceX, the company founded by South African Elon Musk. Boats from Gemini’s Cape Town yard are being used to fetch astronauts from the SpaceX capsule after splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.
The first recovery took place on August 2 after an historic first commercial-crewed mission to the ISS.
Neethling said he was thrilled to see his rigid inflatable boats take centre-stage during the first SpaceX recovery.
“I think it’s the South African can-do attitude that helps us,” he said.
He said Gemini had grown into an international company capable of mixing it with the best in the business.
“Gemini has always managed to win very high-end and sometimes very technically difficult contracts and projects.
“We see ourselves as a local but yet international company, so we do measure ourselves against the big international brands. It keeps us on our toes.”
The company sells into the US market via dealers who rebrand and stock the boats in order to have a quicker delivery turnaround time. In SA it supplies robust rescue boats to the National Sea Rescue Institute and to government departments to help them catch poachers.
Neethling credited the strength of the Gemini brand for success with SpaceX and said the company was now looking to expand its European footprint. The problem was that the yard could soon surpass its production capacity.
“Reaching your build capacity is a good problem to have, especially post-coronavirus lockdown, but we are already planning for the future,” he said.
Vanessa Davidson, executive manager of the South African Boat Builders Export Council and founding member of Ocean Sports marketing group Blue Cape, said Gemini’s success highlighted SA’s boat- building capabilities.
“This is a clear illustration of the innovation, research and design capabilities we have in SA and the international reach which many people are not aware of,” she said.
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