"The Mozambican Defence Force (MDF) needs a lot of logistical equipment which helps in one of its major tasks - fighting natural disasters in the country," Tobias Dai, the Mozambican defence minister, said during the handing over ceremony on board of the Drakensberg.

Also included in the equipment were medical and fire fighting equipment, uniforms and even desks and cabinets. A ferry boat to be used to transport Mozambican navy marines between bases was also on the list.

Piracy concerns Koos Louw, a South African rear admiral, said the two work boats were used by the SA Navy to work on rivers and could help the MDF carry out emergency operations.

Mozambique suffers from frequent flooding. In 2000 and 2001, floods killed hundreds of people and left thousands homeless.

South Africa's donation was however considered before this year's flood and was done with another threat faced by both countries, piracy on the sea.

"If media reports are to be believed, we are informed that this cancer might spread towards our own water. We also face the danger of the plunder of our marine resources," Mluleki George, the deputy defence minister - who donated the equipment on South Africa's behalf - said.

He said there were clear indications of piracy along the West African Coast and also on the Horn of Africa. "It is therefore clear that working together and sharing resources will go along in securing our economic zone from piracy and protecting our marine resources," he said.

Sharing resources South Africa donated patrol boats to Mozambique two years ago which were armed and used for coastal patrols.

"One of the boats was used up north where it was known there was a problem with illegal fishing. Since it has been deployed there, the problem has subsided substantially," Louw said.

George also indicated that South Africa might make use of its new military hardware if piracy becomes a bigger problem.

"Recently South Africa acquired frigates and submarines as part of its strategic defence package. These were not acquired for the benefit of our country alone, but also of the region and continent," he said.

Source: SA Navy Mailing list (probably SAPA)

The calls follow South African Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils' warnings last year that sea piracy was creeping closer and closer to South Africa and that the country needed to "move swiftly" and establish good intelligence networks to stop pirate attacks.

Between January and November, 48 ships were attacked around Africa by gangs of pirates armed with an assortment of weapons, including surface-to-surface missiles, rocket propelled grenades, armed helicopters and heavy calibre machine-guns such as anti-aircraft guns.

'Pirates are moving their operations further south' Pirates, many of whom operate "phantom" ships disguised as vessels in distress, use intelligence operatives stationed at Richards Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town harbours to feed organised crime syndicates with information detailing sailing times, destinations, routes, cargos and numbers of crew.

The warning of pirate attacks occurring in South African waters comes as the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) and International Maritime Organisation (IMO) release their statistics on world pirate attacks.

According to the IMB and IMO, between January and September 174 ships were attacked by pirates worldwide. This is down from the 205 attacks in 2005. Of the 174 attacks, pirates boarded 113 vessels, hijacked 11, took 163 sailors hostage, including 14 Nigerian naval officers, kidnapped 20 sailors and murdered six.

According to the IMB, the latest attack in SADC waters took place 10 days ago when 15 pirates in a high-powered speedboat attacked a container ship waiting to berth in Dar es Salaam harbour in Tanzania.

Two days before the attack, 10 Somali pirates hijacked a general cargo vessel travelling from Richards Bay to the United Arab Emirates off the Somali coast using a helicopter gunship and several specially modified speedboats. The ship was carrying charcoal. The attack took place near the port of Mogadishu.

South Africa needed to step in and help its neighbours The IMB said a group in control of parts of Somalia dispatched several high-powered speed boats to chase the vessel. Following a fierce four-hour gunfight, the search and recovery team, who killed two pirates and arrested eight others, regained control of the vessel and returned it to its owners. Unconfirmed reports said 30 surface-to-surface missiles were seized.

Tshwane University of Technology safety and security department lecturer Henri Fouche said the escalation of attacks showed it was just a matter of time before South Africa was targeted.

"It is clear that pirates are moving their operations further south as they discover there are few, if any, navies operating in southern African waters, especially around countries like Mozambique, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros and Namibia.

"This means pirates will continue to move south, coming closer to South Africa where yachts, fishing ships and cargo vessels will be attacked," Fouche said.

He said another reason South Africa and other SADC countries were becoming a major target for pirates was the recent discovery of oil and gas off the Tanzanian coast and the fact that six million tons of oil were transported around South Africa's western coast every month making this "a gem" for pirates.

He said: "It is therefore imperative that we start assist our neighbouring countries to stop these attacks before they reach our shores."

Read more at: Independent Online

"At midday on Friday the NSRI (National Sea Rescue Institute) was notified that a vessel was overdue at her next port of call in East London," spokesman Craig Lambinon said.

The 16-metre tug boat was on route from Richard's Bay, north of the east coast port city of Durban to Cape Town.

An empty life raft, believed to be from the vessel, was recovered off South Africa's Wild Coast, a notoriously rough stretch of sea between Durban and East London.

Source: News24.com

According to department of environmental affairs officials, the vessels now spend an average 175 days a year at sea, compared to an "optimum" 250 days. Also, some of the sea time is not in the service of MCM, but under charter.

Briefing members on the status of the Marine Living Resources Fund (MLRF), created to pay for the operating costs of the new vessels, Environment Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk admitted planning at the time a decision was taken to buy them had gone awry.

"On the expenditure side, there we have the huge challenge of the vessels, and especially the operational costs."

This was a very difficult challenge, he said, seemingly laying the blame for the problem with the previous management of MCM.

"You receive advice and a model from people who are supposed to know what the costs will be, but it turned out that it was not the correct model that MCM relied on at that stage," Van Schalkwyk said.

Speaking at the briefing, his director-general, Pam Yako, said the MLRF was "not able to generate income that exceeds expenditure".

For every one rand earned [this year], 80 cents is spent on the [eight patrol and research] vessels. Fuel for the vessels comprises 60% of this cost," she said.

According to a document circulated at the briefing, fuel costs "increased by 192% over the past four years... [and] this could not be recovered from the industry".

Among the MLRF's revenue sources are levies on fish products, licence fees and the cost of permits.

The MLRF also generates money through the sale of confiscated abalone. It currently has R30m - about 80 tons of "wet" product - sitting in its warehouses, according to officials.

The fund has been lashed by the Auditor General over the past four years for its lack of internal controls; having no proper accounting or fixed-asset system; lacking historical data and supporting documentation; and insufficient control on debtors and income.

According to the briefing documents, Treasury has agreed to fund a R35 million "shortfall" for the vessels during the current financial year (2006/07). It has also "agreed to assist with vessel costs over the next three financial years".

Yako said this would amount to R68 million a year.

Source: News24.com (Thanks to Wilhelm van Zyl)