Page 51 - Maritime Book 1

FROM CURIOUS SCHOLAR TO SA’S YOUNGEST MARINE PILOT TO PORT MANAGER
CAPTAIN VERNAL JONES PORT MANAGER: PORT OF SALDANHA
" If I were to go back 21 years, I don t think I did realise the impact that it could create. I don t think I realised
at the time how big it actually was. "
Captain Jones always had an interest in understanding ships – but it was a work experience programme during his matric year that truly set the ball rolling for a career in maritime that would break new ground in traversing the divide between operations and the of ce space.
“In 1993 I was introduced to port control, getting an understanding of the industry and seeing if this would spark some interest. It was there that I met the Deputy Port Captain at the time – Captain Eddie Bremner, who would become a harbour master in various ports and eventually Chief Harbour Master in his own distinguished career. He was instrumental in me understanding the maritime side,” he said.
It was during conversation with Captain Bremner that Captain Jones got a real feeling for the opportunities that a career in maritime could present from someone who could impart lessons from their own experiences of life at sea.
He enrolled at the Cape Technikon (now Cape Peninsula University of Technology) on a bursary from Portnet and began his cadetship in 1995. This year will mark his 25th year of service within Transnet.
Following his time at sea, Captain Jones began
his rise in the ranks at Transnet. First came the role of tug master in the Port of Port Elizabeth – before being one of the 12 selected for the marine pilotage programme in Rotterdam.
Captain Jones was the youngest pilot in the country at the time, taking up duty in the Port of Richards Bay before being promoted to the role of Marine Operations Manager at the Port of Mossel Bay in 2007, where he continued to pilot vessels while juggling the other responsibilities of the role.
He returned to Richards Bay, rst as a Deputy Harbour Master – then promoted to Harbour Master and later transferred as Harbour Master at the Port of Cape Town; before continuing
his journey towards the commercial side of the business and taking up his current post as Port Manager at the Port of Saldanha .
“It closed the loop completely. I was the rst and am the only appointed Port Manager that has
come from a harbour master background. But
to me, most of the marine operations activities and what the port does from a commercial side, revolve around ships and cargo – and that’s where I was trained”.
“The Port Manager role involves harnessing
the business aspect, bringing in my maritime experience having sailed at sea, and understanding the Transnet business with terminal operations and marine operations,” he said.
The journey was not easy, and it involved changing perceptions – but the hard work of the Class of ’99 helped pave the way for those who followed. “In the maritime business there is a story to tell. We can see how we’ve transformed it in terms
of gender by how many female harbour masters, deputy harbour masters, pilots, tug masters and marine operations managers we have. We played a role in that journey,” he said.
Looking forward, Captain Jones knows that it’s through sharing successes and experience with others that growth and development can be found. He’s broken it down into a simple formula that he has taken with him in each of his roles.
“My goal is always to change and develop one person. If I can help change someone’s life, they can do the same for others – and that can have a multiplying effect,” he said.
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