Regime & scope
Governing: Merchant Shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulations 2007, regs 2, 3, 4, 5 and 22–25. Builds on: SAMSA Skipper Categories R–B.
The one question that decides everything
Every endorsement in this course exists because a vessel is commercial. The Regulations make the test simple and unforgiving: a pleasure vessel is one "used solely for sport or recreation", and a commercial vessel is any vessel that is not a pleasure vessel. There is no size threshold and no minimum fare. One paying guest, one dive customer, one crate of stores carried for reward, and you are in the commercial regime.
The Regulations apply to every commercial vessel used on inland waters, and to seagoing commercial small vessels that are registered, licensed under section 68 of the Act, or need a local general safety certificate. SAMSA's own policy (MN 13 of 2007) describes the commercial small vessel population as vessels under 25 GT — from crayfish rowing boats and SAPS launches to passenger boats.
Categories
| Category | Operating limit |
|---|---|
| A | Any distance from shore |
| B | Less than 40 nm from shore |
| C | Less than 15 nm |
| D | Less than 5 nm |
| E | Not more than 1 nm from shore and 15 nm from an approved launch site |
| R | Sheltered waters only (tidal lagoons and rivers, inside port breakwaters, inland waters) |
The category is written on the vessel's certificate, and regulation 10 makes it an offence to operate beyond it. Passenger vessels carry a tighter limit of their own, covered in Module 2.
Two certificates, two regimes
| Commercial vessel | Pleasure vessel | |
|---|---|---|
| Vessel certificate | Local General Safety Certificate (LGSC) | Certificate of Fitness (COF) |
| Survey | By a surveyor, intervals not exceeding 12 months (reg 5) | Initial and renewal inspection not exceeding 12 months (reg 23) |
| Who surveys | SAMSA or SAMSA-appointed surveyor | SAMSA surveyor or authorised agency safety officer |
| Skipper | Certificate of competence, 18+ | Certificate required above set thresholds, 16+ |
People loosely say "COF" for both. Do not. A dive charter operator asking whether his boat's COF is in date has already told you something is wrong: a commercial boat should hold an LGSC. At the first LGSC a commercial vessel's plans may have to be submitted and approved (reg 4), unless SAMSA dispenses with it for an approved builder or a compliant existing vessel.
CAUTION — Tenders are not a loophole The Regulations exclude "tenders", but the definition is narrow: not over 4 m, used solely in sheltered waters, and without financial gain or reward. A yacht's 7 m RIB running paying guests is neither.
Where the law stands
The parent Act is still the Merchant Shipping Act 57 of 1951; the Regulations were made under its section 356. Two changes are in the pipeline. A draft set of National Small Vessel Safety Regulations, 2024 was gazetted on 16 February 2024 with the stated aim of repealing the 2007 Regulations, and SAMSA ran consultation workshops in Cape Town, Durban, Gqeberha and Pretoria. Separately, the Merchant Shipping Bill [B12-2023] lapsed in May 2024 and was back before the Portfolio Committee on Transport in 2025. At the time of drafting neither had been confirmed in force. Teach and operate to the 2007 text, but check SAMSA's notices before relying on any detail.
TIP — Yacht crew On a foreign-flag yacht in South African waters the yacht is governed by its flag. The moment its tender carries paying local guests on a separate operation, assume the South African commercial regime applies and ask SAMSA before you go.