Maritime Safety and Sustainability

“Supporting Safer and More Sustainable Maritime systems in South Africa“

gET iNVOLVED

Building Capacity for Safer Maritime Systems Through Education, Training and Strategic Partnerships

The Maritime Safety and Sustainability flagship of the Systemic Transformation of Engineering Education for Safety and Sustainability project seeks to strengthen South Africa’s maritime sector by building the people, partnerships, educational pathways, and research needed to support safer and more sustainable maritime systems.

Working alongside universities, industry, regulators, professional bodies, maritime training providers, and international partners, the project aims to strengthen maritime education while addressing broader workforce and systems challenges that influence safety across the sector.

Rather than focusing on a single qualification or institution, the initiative adopts a systems perspective, recognising that safer maritime systems depend on stronger connections between education, professional practice, regulation, industry, and research.

Why This Work Matters

Stakeholder engagements across South Africa have highlighted a number of interconnected challenges affecting the maritime sector, including:

  • fragmented qualification and accreditation pathways;
  • shortages of qualified maritime educators and trainers;
  • limited sea-time opportunities and workforce development pathways;
  • weak alignment between higher education, TVET, industry and professional regulation;
  • shortages of specialist skills in areas such as marine engineering, naval architecture, fisheries safety and simulation;
  • limited data to understand student progression, workforce demand and sector capability.

These challenges require coordinated action rather than isolated institutional responses.

Our Approach

The project is developing a collaborative national platform that brings together expertise from across the maritime ecosystem to identify shared priorities and build collective capacity.

Our work is centred around four interconnected areas.

Education and Workforce Development

Supporting the development of current and future maritime educators, instructors, lecturers and trainers while strengthening pathways for students entering the maritime profession.

Current activities include:

  • curriculum development;
  • postgraduate pathway development;
  • educator capacity building;
  • maritime workforce research;
  • student mobility and collaboration across institutions.

Safety Education and Professional Capability

Working with universities, industry and training providers to strengthen safety capability throughout maritime education and professional development.

Areas of focus include:

  • simulation-based learning;
  • safety leadership;
  • experiential learning;
  • survival training;
  • fisheries safety;
  • certification pathways.

Research and Innovation

Developing research that addresses emerging challenges facing maritime education and practice.

Current themes include:

  • maritime safety culture;
  • psychological safety at sea;
  • simulation and digital twins;
  • workforce development;
  • digitalisation;
  • autonomous and remote operations;
  • qualification pathways;
  • engineering education.

Partnerships and Systems Transformation

Building stronger collaboration across:

  • universities;
  • Universities of Technology;
  • TVET colleges;
  • accredited private providers;
  • industry;
  • professional bodies;
  • regulators;
  • African and international partners.

These partnerships provide the foundation for long-term transformation of maritime education and workforce development.

Current Strategic Initiatives

The flagship currently includes several interconnected initiatives, including:

  • Development of capacity for current and future Maritime Education and Training staff.
  • Psychological Safety at Sea.
  • Fisheries Vessel Stability Initiative (FVSI) collaboration.
  • Maritime stakeholder collaboration and systems mapping.
  • Simulation and digital learning initiatives.
  • Marine Safety and Sustainable Transition student mobility discussions.
  • Postgraduate research and postdoctoral development.
  • National stakeholder collaboration through the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Maritime Community of Practice.

Looking Forward

The project seeks to establish a connected maritime education ecosystem in which universities, industry, regulators, and training providers work collectively to strengthen safety, sustainability, workforce development, and innovation.

By aligning research, education, accreditation, and professional practice, the initiative aims to support long-term transformation across South Africa while contributing to maritime capability development throughout the African region.

Upcoming Events

Maritime Summer School (23–27 November 2026): See more details –>

Join us in Cape Town for the CPUT Maritime Summer School 2026, a unique opportunity for maritime students, cadets, young professionals, and aspiring seafarers to gain internationally recognised maritime safety training while learning at one of Africa’s leading maritime training facilities.

Systematic Transformation for Maritime Safety & Sustainability (31 August 2026): See more details –>

Join higher education leaders, maritime industry partners, government representatives, regulators, professional bodies, alumni, students and international collaborators for a strategic dialogue on the future of maritime education, workforce development, safety and sustainability.
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