Cape Town solidifies its status as Africa’s boat-building capital at the inaugural African Boating Conference
Bruce Tedder, founder of Blue Cape; Kevin Williams, the Vice President of Marketing at the US's National Marine Manufacturers Association; Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Ecomonic Growth; Veda Pretorius, African Boating Conference Event Director; Arturo Gutierrez, General Manager of Freedom Boat Club, a division of Brunswick Corporation, the largest boat club operator in the world; Faith Kolala, Manager of the City of Cape Town's Growth Coalitions division.
Image: City of Cape Town
Cape Town has reaffirmed its position as Africa’s boat-building capital, with industry leaders and innovators gathering at the inaugural African Boating Conference at the V&A Waterfront this week.
The two-day event brought together marine manufacturers, maritime media, and investors to explore how collaboration and localisation can drive sustainable growth in South Africa’s thriving ocean economy.
Mayco member for Economic Growth, James Vos, delivered the opening address, highlighting the city's dominant role in South Africa’s marine manufacturing industry.
“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," he said.
"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.”
Delegates at the African Boating Conference.
Image: City of Cape Town
Hosted in partnership with BlueCape, the city’s Special Purpose Vehicle for the ocean economy, the conference showcased how Cape Town’s blend of craftsmanship, innovation, and strategic collaboration has positioned it as a global hub for high-quality marine production.
However, Vos also addressed challenges facing the sector, including the recent 30% US tariff on South African products, a significant concern given that the US accounted for nearly a third of Cape Town’s boat exports last year.
“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,” said Vos.
He emphasised that growing local supply chains and investing in skills development are key to keeping the industry resilient and competitive.
“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.”
With its established infrastructure, talented workforce, and a municipal government intent on supporting the sector, Cape Town remains at the helm of Africa’s blue economy.
“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,” Vos concluded.