Iziko South African Maritime Centre

The Iziko South African (SA) Maritime Centre opened in 1990. It is based at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (V&A Waterfront), Cape Town, Western Cape. The museum provides a history of shipping in the City and displays the oldest model of Table Bay harbour, which was created by prisoners and warders from Breakwater Prison in 1885. There are also photographs depicting Table Bay between the 17th to 20th centuries. 

The museum also displays a collection of ship models alongside photographs and displays of shipwrecks that occurred as well. There are two permanent exhibitions at the Centre namely,  “The Last Voyage of the Mendi: Death in Foreign Waters” which provides an overview of the SS Mendi and the John H. Marsh Maritime Research Centre which hosts about 20 000 photographs with 9 200 of them displaying ships from the 1920s to the 1960s. 

There is also an online service to assist with queries relating to the ships and handling orders for images of the ships. The Maritime Centre is open daily and requires an admission fee.