Robben Island Museum (RIM) endangered the safety of visitors over the peak tourist season by ferrying them to the World Heritage Site aboard a vessel with serious defects.
Krotoa, a twin-hulled vessel purchased a few years ago for more than R90m, was detained by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) after an ad hoc safety inspection on February 7.
The condition of RIM’s ferries surfaced in court papers during a legal dispute between suspended CFO Karabo Ramela and the chair of RIM council, along with the acting CEO. Ramela sought urgent protection from the high court in Cape Town under the Protected Disclosures Act in exchange for revealing irregularities on the island involving senior staff.
The act protects whistle-blowers from retaliation or occupational detriment after making a disclosure.
The court rejected his application, ruling the disclosures did not qualify as being protected as they were already under investigation by third parties or in the public domain, and ordered him to pay costs. He is appealing.
Samsa's inspection report, attached as an annexure to the court papers, revealed the vessel had a breached hull which, Ramela warned in his affidavit, effectively meant the museum would not be covered by insurance were there to be an incident aboard.
Other items noted during the inspection were a lack of fire drills, the chief engineer lacking a required qualification for the vessel, the crew experiencing difficulty while lowering the anchor, and the port engine room being covered in oil.
Samsa spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie this week confirmed the outcome of the inspection and said it was unclear as to how long the vessel had hull damage. “The nature of the defect is that it would have been present prior to the ad hoc inspection by Samsa. As to how long the defect had been there is not possible to determine except through reports from those on board,” said Ramatjie.
He added that the vessel now had valid certification while another RIM vessel, Sikhululekile, did not. Sikhululekile, bought for R25m, began operating in February 2008.
“A statutory safety survey is conducted annually on the vessels, a statutory hull survey is carried out every two years, and safety inspections are conducted on an ad hoc basis,” said Ramatjie.
Peak season for the island falls between September 1 and April 30, with tickets priced at R400 for adult South Africans and R210 for children under the age of 18. Non-South Africans pay R600 per adult and R310 per child. Tours take about three-and-a-half hours, including the ferry journeys.
The purchase of Krotoa was flagged as being irregular by late auditor-general Kimi Makwetu in a 2019/20 audit finding.
RIM council chair Prof Saths Cooper declined to respond in detail to questions about the Samsa inspection. Cooper said he would “refrain from garnishing another sensational misinformation story that is patently intended to tarnish South Africa’s iconic National and World Heritage Site, where the actions taken to address what we inherited are also publicly known”.
However, he said the 2019/20 issue flagged by the auditor-general regarding the vessel had been "successfully concluded with the AG-SA and National Treasury in the last financial year.
Ramela stands accused by RIM of misrepresenting his professional credentials when he applied for the post of CFO and was scheduled to face a disciplinary hearing for “serious misconduct”. This stemmed from him not being a chartered accountant in good standing with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants. He also stands accused of absconding from work.
In a disclosure submitted with the help of his legal representative in February to sport, arts & culture minister Gayton McKenzie, he painted a bleak picture of the museum’s operations.
“The issues that resulted in the detaining of Krotoa are not minor but severe,” read his affidavit.
“A hull in the marine space is a key part of the boat that determines the validity of the insurance cover for RIM boats. In this case of a broken hull, should any unfortunate incident occur on the boats, RIM has no insurance cover. Moreover, it is also risking the lives of the passengers that have been ferried on the boat while this damage was not reported nor repaired on an emergency basis to avoid bringing RIM into disrepute.”
Ramela argued the issues identified by Samsa were “a culmination from poor strategic oversight and a lack of decisiveness by RIM council due to failure of adopting the assessment report in 2023”.
“Know that RIM is on track to further improve its financial and operational performance,” said Cooper.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.