Challenges and opportunities ahead for Cape Town’s boat-building industry
The City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos, represented the City at the inaugural African Boating Conference, sharing insights on how localisation and collaboration can power the growth of South Africa’s boat-building industry.
The inaugural two-day African Boating Conference, held at the V&A Waterfront, brings together boat-builders, maritime media, and other roleplayers looking to explore the opportunities and challenges facing marine manufacturing in Africa. The conference is hosted in partnership with BlueCape, the City’s Special Purpose Vehicle tasked with developing Cape Town’s industry profile.
‘Nationally, the building of ships and boats sector employed 3 780 full-time equivalent jobs by March 2024 with Cape Town hosting about 65% of those jobs over nine years. In terms of exports, in 2024, R4,3 billion worth of Cape Town-made ships, boats and floating structures were ordered by foreign clients. The dominant export product that year was yachts or pleasure vessels, making up 96% of boat exports in 2024. Notably, this category has grown by 217% since 2015, highlighting the massive global demand for locally manufactured marine goods. Cape Town’s boat-builders have clearly hooked a growing market of international clients seeking out the manufacturers’ innovative designs and the quality of craftsmanship,’ said Alderman Vos, in his opening address on the state of the industry in South Africa.
‘The local industry faces a major challenge with the recent enactment of a 30% US tariff on South African products. In four of the last five years, the US has been the dominant export market for Cape Town’s boats, accounting for 30% of the city’s total marine vessel exports in 2024.
‘We must act immediately and decisively to mitigate the effects of this tariff. We must diversify our export markets and seek out the opportunities of trade agreements such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area. We can also further increase jobs by growing local suppliers for components such as engines, electronics, and composites. And investors, boatbuilders, tertiary institutions, and government agencies need to sit at the table regularly and align on how to address industry development bottlenecks, such as skills shortages or manufacturing processes. The City is leading on this front through our funding of and partnership with BlueCape. This specialised entity focuses on research and skills development in all areas of marine manufacturing, including boat-building, superyachts, and ocean sports, and how that links to related industries.
‘Cape Town has the raw materials: skilled people, existing marine yards, significant infrastructure investment by the local government, and a City leadership committed to growing the ocean economy for the benefit of all our communities,’ said Alderman Vos.
