CAPT. JOHAN VOIGT, 52, his grey hair and white shirt tinged with yellow, walked down the gangplank – a victim of politics.

“A captain of the wrong ship”, or so he said.

He said this yesterday after 20 anti-apartheid demonstrators had thrown yellow paint over him at Victoria Dock.

The Dutch-born captain has charge of the 10,000 ton Dutch cargo ship Safocean Adelaide which carries general cargo between South Africa and Australia.

(Because of this, the ship was black banned by the Waterside Workers’ Federation last Monday).

Upset about the paint incident, Capt. Voigt said: “They picked the wrong ship.

“We have nothing to say for or against apartheid. We have been caught in a political situation.”
A large sign “Paint ‘em black, send ‘em back” was scrawled across the side of the ship yesterday.

Capt. Voigt asked the demonstrators: “Do you know you are defacing private property?” A few seconds later, while standing on the gangplank, he was also on the receiving end of the paint.