Jobs

Experienced Marine Structural Design Draughtsmen

We are not hiring at this point in time.

However experienced Marine Structural Design Draughtsman are generally in short supply in South Africa. Hence should such a person be well experienced in Classification Society Rule based ship design, and 2D detailing for fabrication, he could drop an email with his contact details, so as to be contactable should we be hiring again.

Such a person would typically be responsible for both design and draughting elements, and would be delivering his work in the form of 2D detailed fabrication drawings, for both Class Approval and Construction. Anyone without this experience should not apply. He should also have a reasonable knowledge of strength of materials (structural design), preferably technician level.

All correspondence should be directed via email. Only applicable applications will be assured a reply.

No availability for NAVAL ARCHITECTS

We get inundated with applications for Naval Architectural positions. We have no availability in this area.

FAQ

What is a Naval Architect, and how to study Naval Architecture?

A good reference can be found at this comprehensive website

RINA – Careers in Naval Architecture

OR, Download this Brochure from the Royal Institute of Naval Architects (6MByte)

How to Study Naval Architecture in SA?

By far the most frequent request, outside of actual work related inquiries, is “how to study Naval Architecture”, and particularly “how to study Naval Architecture in South Africa”.

Naval Architecture, unlike Building Architecture, is essentially Engineering based. There are universities in Europe and America that offer Naval Architecture as an undergraduate degree, ie. BSc Degree in Nav Arch, however the more common route for those that studied it locally, was to complete an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering (B. Mech Eng, or B.Sc Mech Eng), and then to do a M.Sc in Naval Architecture.

Many of the current South African Naval Architects went this route, and many in fact, were sponsored by the SA Navy at the time, in which case they did their B. Mech/Marine Eng at the University of Stellenbosch, and their M.Sc. Nav Arch, or M.Sc. Marine Eng at UCL (London).

There were also some in the 1990’s that did an M.Sc Eng (specialising in the Naval Architecture) under Professor Hoppe, at the University of Stellenbosch, however Stellenbosch no longer offers Nav Arch as a full time post graduate option, but does offer some block courses, partially for student purposes and partially for Continued Education Courses (ECSA Points).

There is also a distinction between yacht designers and Naval Architects. Some Yacht Designers are qualified Engineers, and some are not, hence in the case of the latter, the term and title “Naval Architect” is sometimes used somewhat loosely to describe the occupation rather than the qualification.

Generally Naval Architects in the context of the International Maritime Industry are graduate Engineers (Pr Eng) so as to have the authority to sign off on designs that contain a high degree of responsibility, and professional liability. This largely excludes the small boat industries which is less formal.

For more information on studying Naval Architecture in South Africa, you can contact the University Of Stellenbosch, Dept of Mechanical Engineering.