SAIMENA - A Brief History
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THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF MARINE ENGINEERS AND NAVAL ARCHITECTS : A BRIEF HISTORY



Prior to 1974 many members of the Marine Industry belonged to the Institute of Marine Engineers and/or the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, both of which had their headquarters in London

The South African Council for Professional Engineers, created as a result of the Professional Engineers act of 1968, refused to have affiliated institutions which were based outside the R.S.A. so Marine Engineers and Naval Architects resident in South Africa decided to form a combined Institute, with its headquarters at the Athenaeum in Cape Town.

A Constitution, supported by a set of by-laws, was drawn up with professional legal advice, and the South African Institute of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (SAIMENA) was formed on 29 November 1974 with the late Harry Smith, General Manager of Globe Engineering Works as President and the late Rear Admiral J.R.Nortier S.A.N. as Senior Vice President

Corporate Members of RINA and IMarE, provided that they were in good standing with those bodies, were automatically accepted as Corporate Members of SAIMENA.
The main branches were setup at Cape Town and Durban and the Branch Chairmen, who are required to be Corporate Members, became members of Council ex officio, as did the now defunct Transvaal Representative, whose job was to co-ordinate the activities of members resident on the Reef. Sub branches were subsequently formed at Port Elizabeth, East London and Richards Bay.

Both the Cape Town and Durban Branches hold a monthly meeting, at which a technical paper is read. Attendance is generally by thirty to forty members and guests.
Annual General Meetings are held at Branch and National level to report on activities and finances and to elect Council and Branch Committee members for the following year.
In general the AGM is held in Durban and Cape Town on alternate years.
Each branch holds an annual dinner dance, a golf day and a cricket match against the local branch of the Society of Master Mariners.
Quarterly luncheons area popular event in Durban, as is the annual luncheon held in Cape Town.
Membership has ranged between three and five hundred members, of the following grades
  • Corporate:
    • Honorary Fellow
    • Fellow
    • Member
  • Non-Corporate:
    • Companion
    • Associate Member
    • Associate
    • Graduate
    • Student

The only person to have been appointed a Companion of SAIMENA was Captain D.P. de Wet S.A.N. (Retired).
Fellows are require to be registered with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) in one of the following categories :
  • Registered Professional Engineer                          -PrEng
  • Professional Technologist (Engineering)                 -ProfTech.(Eng)
  • Registered Professional Certificated Engineer        -Reg.Cert.Eng

Following a Worldwide trend, SAIMENA has reduced the number of grades and since 2001 membership has been made up of the following :
  • Corporate:
    • Honorary Fellow
    • Fellow
    • Member
  • Non-Corporate:
    • Associate

SAIMENA currently (February 2004) has a total membership of 435.

In 1992 members of the Durban Branch decided to build themselves a permanent headquarters which could not only be used for monthly and annual meetings of SAIMENA but could also earn its keep by being hired out for private functions.
A fundraising drive was set in motion and contributions from members and companies and individuals within the maritime industry were obtained. An agreement was entered into with Berea Rovers Sports Club to build a new wing onto their existing Clubhouse, to be known as “SAIMENA House.”
Work started on 15 October 1993 and the building was completed on 20 January 1994, being officially opened on 25 March 1994 by Professor Roy Marcus, President of the South African Association of Engineers.
Further information on SAIMENA House. can be found elsewhere on this website.
The past few years have seen a downturn in the maritime industry and the virtual demise of the shipbuilding industry in South Africa.The number of naval architects in SAIMENA was never great and is now only about five per cent of the total membership.

Many local marine engineers are serving offshore in various parts of the World so although our overall membership figure is quite healthy, there are fewer members available to serve on Council and on Branch Committees and, in fact, to attend branch meetings.
The smaller Branches, located in Johannesburg, East London and Richards Bay no longer have enough members to remain viable but Council is ever hopeful that the situation will improve.
SAIMENA has, at present, only one Lady Member, a practicing Naval Architect who is has just stepped down as Chairman of the Cape Town Branch.

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