Insurance spares, safety equipment and spare parts on ships

This paper deals with the treatment of spare parts on ships, in accordance with the Income Tax Act, No. 58 of 1962 (as amended), (hereafter 'the Act'). The question that is central to this issue is specifically when a spare part is brought into use. Flowing from this is the question of the purpose of a spare part. In summary the issues are as follow: What expenditure should properly be regarded as forming part of the cost of a ship? The expenditure envisaged here comprises essential safety equipment and spares included in a ship at the time of its construction prior to commissioning and its maiden voyage. If such expenditure is considered not to form part of the cost of a ship, should it in the alternative be deducted as operating expenditure? Should it then be included in trading stock as 'consumable stores and spare parts ... used or consumed' by virtue of having been brought into use or consumed when added to the ship? Should the cost of the subsequent replacement of the above items properly be regarded as operating expenditure? Apparently an airline received a written ruling from the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services that if an aircraft is acquired with a spare engine, it will be regarded as part and parcel of the plane. It will be regarded as one asset for taxation purposes on which wear and tear is permitted. The airline is not required to include this 'spare' engine as a spare part for trading stock purposes

Towards an urban marine ecology : characterizing the drivers, patterns and processes of marine ecosystems in coastal cities

Human population density within 100 km of the sea is approximately three times higher than the global average. People in this zone are concentrated in coastal cities that are hubs for transport and trade - which transform the marine environment. Here, we review the impacts of three interacting drivers of marine urbanization (resource exploitation, pollution pathways and ocean sprawl) and discuss key characteristics that are symptomatic of urban marine ecosystems. Current evidence suggests these systems comprise spatially heterogeneous mosaics with respect to artificial structures, pollutants and community composition, while also undergoing biotic homogenization over time. Urban marine ecosystem dynamics are often influenced by several commonly observed patterns and processes, including the loss of foundation species, changes in biodiversity and productivity, and the establishment of ruderal species, synanthropes and novel assemblages. We discuss potential urban acclimatization and adaptation among marine taxa, interactive effects of climate change and marine urbanization, and ecological engineering strategies for enhancing urban marine ecosystems. By assimilating research findings across disparate disciplines, we aim to build the groundwork for urban marine ecology - a nascent field; we also discuss research challenges and future directions for this new field as it advances and matures. Ultimately, all sides of coastal city design: architecture, urban planning and civil and municipal engineering, will need to prioritize the marine environment if negative effects of urbanization are to be minimized. In particular, planning strategies that account for the interactive effects of urban drivers and accommodate complex system dynamics could enhance the ecological and human functions of future urban marine ecosystems.Peer reviewe

Urbanisation generates multiple trait syndromes for terrestrial animal taxa worldwide

Cities can host significant biological diversity. Yet, urbanisation leads to the loss of habitats, species, and functional groups. Understanding how multiple taxa respond to urbanisation globally is essential to promote and conserve biodiversity in cities. Using a dataset encompassing six terrestrial faunal taxa (amphibians, bats, bees, birds, carabid beetles and reptiles) across 379 cities on 6 continents, we show that urbanisation produces taxon-specific changes in trait composition, with traits related to reproductive strategy showing the strongest response. Our findings suggest that urbanisation results in four trait syndromes (mobile generalists, site specialists, central place foragers, and mobile specialists), with resources associated with reproduction and diet likely driving patterns in traits associated with mobility and body size. Functional diversity measures showed varied responses, leading to shifts in trait space likely driven by critical resource distribution and abundance, and taxon-specific trait syndromes. Maximising opportunities to support taxa with different urban trait syndromes should be pivotal in conservation and management programmes within and among cities. This will reduce the likelihood of biotic homogenisation and helps ensure that urban environments have the capacity to respond to future challenges. These actions are critical to reframe the role of cities in global biodiversity loss.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio