Page 79 - Maritime Book 1

CHANGING LIVES
CAPTAIN THULANI DUBEKO HARBOUR MASTER: PORT OF NGQURA
" My biggest motivator is the love for my country, and the organisation that I work for. I believe as a country and as a company we ve got such huge potential to change the lives of the people. "
Captain Thulani Dubeko’s road to Harbour Master has been a long, hard trek, paved with the resolve to succeed for both himself and others like him.
“I come from a very, very poor background and I feel that I am on this earth for a reason. One of the biggest things for me is to make a mark and change other people’s lives.”
Never content with remaining stagnant, the Port of Ngqura’s Harbour Master has squeezed every drop of potential out of each opportunity that has come his way.
Hailing from Lusikisiki, Dubeko was one of the second group of candidates to participate in the marine pilot training programme in Rotterdam.
His own maritime journey began 22 years ago when he joined Safmarine as a trainee navigation of cer. In 2000 he found a home at the Port of Port Elizabeth as a trainee tug master and after training in Rotterdam, his career truly began to gain traction.
“I came back at the end of 2000, motivated to carry on training. In 2001, I quali ed to become a tug master and by 2003, I was a marine pilot.”
Four years later, Captain Dubeko obtained both his open licence and a promotion to serve as a Marine Operations Manager at the Port of East London.
In 2010, he moved to Nelson Mandela Bay to join TNPA’s youngest port – the Port of Ngqura – to take on the role of Deputy Harbour Master.
Now, with seven years’ experience as Harbour Master and 20 years as part of the TNPA family, Captain Dubeko remains as excited for the future as he was in 1997 when he rst stepped into the industry.
The biggest change he has witnessed during his time in TNPA, is the change in complexity, including innovations such as the Integrated Port Management System. He has seen many previously disadvantaged people come in
and learn the necessary skills to operate new equipment, new craft and learn new processes and systems.
“We’ve also had new – especially Black-owned businesses – coming in and it is exciting because it means that everyone is able to participate in the industry. Our younger South Africans these days can be of cers all over the world. They can change a lot of lives.”
“I believe there are still challenges but we are de nitely on the right track to deal with them one day at a time.”
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