The South African boat-building industry must find an answer to the 30% tariff levied on all boats exported from South Africa to the US as from August onwards, says City of Cape Town Economic Growth MMC James Vos.

“We must act immediately and decisively to mitigate the effects of this tariff. We must diversify our export markets and seek out the opportunities presented by trade agreements such as the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement.”

Vos spoke at the inaugural African Boating Conference held in Cape Town this week.

He said Cape Town’s dominant boating export product were yachts – pleasure vessels – at 96% of all boat exports in 2024, with this category expanding by 217% since 2015.

The key export markets were the US, at around 30%, the Caribbean at 27%, and the EU at 25%.

“This is no small hobby – it is real jobs, real trade, but with real risks and challenges ahead,” noted Vos.

The ship- and boat-building industry in South Africa offered 3 780 full-time equivalent jobs (FTEs) in 2024, with Cape Town hosting roughly 65% of these jobs and Durban 14%. (Two people working half-time count as one FTE.)

From 2015 to 2024, there had been an average of 5% growth in FTEs.

The pleasure and sport subsector – yachts and other recreational vessels – had been the biggest growth driver, with FTEs in this sector up 34% over the same period, said Vos.

Cape Town’s exports of ships, boats and floating structures stood at roughly R4.3-billion in 2024, with imports at R1.8-billion.

However, while this represented a R2.4-billion trade surplus, the jump in imports were disconcerting – up 258% from the R500-million recorded in 2023.

“This tells me that parts, components and finished product imports are raising costs,” said Vos.

He believed that the industry could increase employment by growing the number of local suppliers.

He added that investors, boatbuilders, tertiary institutions and government agencies had to meet regularly on how to address industry development bottlenecks, such as skills shortages.

“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.”