School of Commerce

Maritime transport is the dominant international mode of transportation. It accounts for the conveyance of over 80 percent, by volume, of global commodity trade and over 90 percent of South Africa’s import-export trade. The port of Durban is the largest port-related to the urban economic activity in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that the University of KwaZulu-Natal engage with this industry and with the most extensive maritime economic cluster in the African continent. The Master of Commerce in Maritime Studies programme is designed to meet the need for practitioners in this industry and other interested stakeholders to develop specialised knowledge of Maritime Economics, Laws, policies, and procedures relating to the maritime industry in South Africa and elsewhere. The programme aims to produce graduates with advanced knowledge and skills in issues related to the economic and legal “laws of motion” of the maritime transport industry. The programme further seeks to produce independent thinkers with strong research skills and capable of advancing knowledge in maritime studies that help solve and interpret real-life legislation and policies