The Cape is notorious for its extremes of fine sunny summer weather and fierce north-west winter gales which have claimed many ships over the centuries since the Portuguese explorers discovered the sea route to the Indies. Many historic wrecks lie off the peninsula coast, and each winter brings with it sea dramas anew. Fortunately there is a well-experienced air/sea rescue, a National Sea Rescue Institute and salvors with first class expertise and equipment on permanent station at the Cape.

The Port of Cape Town sees many ships calling either off limits or calling alongside for bunkering and victualling. Many ships are tramping between Europe and the East, routing via the Cape to avoid Suez fees. Some are carrying that "one last cargo" en route to the breakers in Pakistan. And many have left debts behind them.

The passage around the Cape is not kind to vessels which have age against them. Many belong in the breaker’s yards rather than carrying seamen at sea. SA Port State Control is dogged by lack of central government funding. But the State has accepted the policy of developing Port State Control as a matter of urgency. Our site has a collection of Policy documents.

These factors contribute to the large numbers of ship arrests in Cape Town, and in Durban, SA’s largest port. The Admiralty Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, which sits at Cape Town, dates back to 1797 when a Vice-Admiralty Court was established at the Cape - then a British Colony. The symbol of the authority of the Vice Admiralty Court was the Silver Oar of Admiralty now housed in the Cultural History Museum at Cape Town. The Vice Admiralty Court preceded the SA Supreme Court by some 31 years.

After Union in 1910 and the declaration of SA as a sovereign Republic in 1961, admiralty jurisdiction, tied to the UK jurisdiction as it was in 1890 when the Vice Admiralty Court became the Colonial Court of Admiralty, atrophied.

Its metamorphosis came in 1983 when SA enacted the Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act (Act 105 of 1983) which broadened the scope of Admiralty to suit modern shipping needs. A novel, and most successful, feature of the Act is the ability to arrest in rem or attach in personam an "associated ship" of the ship which incurred the debt. The association of ships is established by examining not only co-ownership, but also common control of the companies which own the two ships. You may care to visit lawfirm Shepstone & Wylie's excellent site for a review of arrest procedures in SA.

SA’s admiralty jurisdiction is now effective, and is backed by a well-qualified and experienced body of admiralty practitioners. The professional body of these practitioners and of academics in the field, is the SA Maritime Law Association.