The South African Navy will host the Presidential Fleet Review on 05 September 2008 in Simon’s Town. The aim of the Fleet Review is to introduce the new South African Navy to the Commander in Chief, President T.M. Mbeki and the people of South Africa.

During the Presidential Fleet Review, the South African Navy will demonstrate its broad range of capabilities to the South African nation to show case its readiness to protect our national interests and sovereign integrity.

Read more at: www.navy.mil.za

Two vessels, an Iranian bulk carrier and a Japanese-operated tanker, have been seized by pirates off the coast of Somalia, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Thursday.

"Both ships were attacked and hijacked this morning [Thursday]," said Noel Chong, head of the IMB piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The Japanese tanker had 19 crew on board, but no Japanese nationals, Chong said.

Thursday's seizures came after a Malaysian oil tanker, with 39 crew on board and laden with palm oil, was hijacked on Wednesday in the Gulf of Aden.

Piracy is rife off Somalia, which has been mired in anarchy since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991.

Last week, pirates from Somalia hijacked two ships -- a Thai cargo ship, the MV Thor Star, and a Nigerian tug boat, the MT Yenegoa Ocean.

Somali pirates are still holding a Japanese-managed bulk vessel, the MV Stella Maris, which was hijacked on July 20.

Source: Mail & Guardian Online

The selection of the German Submarine Consortium (GSC) -- led by MAN Ferrostaal -- as a preferred bidder was such a farce that the possibility of corruption has become an almost irresistible inference.

Ferrostaal executive Horst Wereteki this week dismissed the R30million bribe claim as "absolute nonsense" and denied his company paid any bribes to win the contract.

He said Ferrostaal was considering legal action against the Sunday Times, which published the claim last weekend.

However, the German bid did not succeed because its submarine was rated the best compared with those of its rivals, Fincantieri of Italy, DCN of France or Kockums of Sweden.

In fact the military performance results of the evaluation team put GSC last and Fincantieri first.

GSC was pushed to the preferred supplier position by outrageous emphasis given to certain scores in the tender evaluation process.

The first was the weighting accorded to "integrated logistic support" (ILS), something that made up roughly 5% of the total cost of acquiring the submarines.

But this tiny factor was given a 67,5% weighting in the evaluation criteria of military performance, meaning a low quotation for ILS radically distorted the overall score.

Curiously, the ILS cost quoted by the Germans was so low the evaluators did not believe it and arbitrarily increased the quoted cost by 75%. Despite this, GSC still had the lowest ILS cost, which skewed the scoring and made GSC the leader in terms of the overall military performance assessment.

This anomaly has never been explained.

The other factor that helped GSC's bid was the weighting given to the German company's proposed stainless steel plant at Coega, which originally made up 93% of its "industrial participation" or offset offer.

Officials at the Department of Trade and Industry were so enamoured of this project that they assigned a multiplier-weighting of the assessed value of this project of 23, pushing it to 97% of the GSC offset offer, assessed to be worth a massive $239billion.

This amount dwarfed the more modest offset proposals by other bidders. The Coega plant never materialised.

Once again, this extraordinary evaluation process has not been properly investigated, despite the fact that an official who played a key role in the evaluation process was later fired for taking a R55 000 discount on one of the infamous cut-price vehicles offered by another German arms bidder.

Other suspicions fell on the late Joe Modise. The then defence minister "initialled" the contract with GSC shortly before leaving office and long before Cabinet's ministerial committee responsible for the deal had formally approved it.

The "initialling" has been dismissed as purely ceremonial and rumours that Modise received R10million for his efforts have never been substantiated.

Source: Mail & Guardian Online

The SA Navy is going to dedicate its only extensive visit abroad this year to supporting the government's diplomatic relations in China and other eastern countries, at a cost of about R30m. In the past and due to the navy's limited budget, these types of visits usually focused on training and joint exercises with naval allies.

"Strategically seen, the saying is that you keep your friends close and your enemies closer," said military analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman.

"China is a future colonial power in Africa and it makes sense for South Africa to seek favour now.

This will mean that South Africa will become a client rather than a colony of China in the future.

"This is really the only alternative for South Africa, seeing as it regards the USA as an enemy and Europe as an officious entity in Africa."

Inter-continental ties

Navy spokesperson Captain Lisa Hendricks said one of the navy's brand new frigates, the SAS Spioenkop, will support the government's diplomatic initiatives.

The ship will also visit Vietnam, India, Mauritius and Singapore.

The trip will last from October until December and will deplete most of the navy's budget for these kinds of deployments.

"The aim of the visits is to create inter-continental ties with the East and the Far East and to develop co-operation," Hendricks said.

Source: flyafrica.info

South Africa's Department of Defence (DoD) has rejected weekend media reports that its first submarine acquired under the 1999 arms deal had been "plagued by defects since its arrival", arguing that the vessel had simply experienced "normal first-of-class challenges".

The DoD conceded that it had experienced hull-valve challenges, but said that these had been fixed under the manufacturer warranty, and that additional engineering challenges for the entire class would be carried out, as the submarines were optimised for African conditions.

The vessel in question, the SAS Manthatisi, had performed "extremely creditably" since its work-up period, before setting sail from Norwegian waters to South Africa, the Department maintained.

The Sunday Times reported that the boat's snort-mast housing had imploded on its maiden journey to South Africa.

However, the DoD said in an emailed statement that this had happened during the work-up period, before setting sail for the country, and that its crew had averted serious risk through their "high level of training and competence".

It also refuted allegations that there had been irregularities during a battery charging process on the SAS Manthatisi's return to the water in May.

"This is routine procedure as submarine batteries are designed to be charged and discharged on a regular basis," the Defence Department asserted.

Meanwhile, the DoD conceded that the poaching of its scarce skills by the private sector was a challenge, saying that the chief of the Navy and of the Air Force had stated this publicly.

"It is further to be noted that the DoD has some of the best training in the world, and this, together with the discipline associated with the military ethos, means that our young men and women are highly desirable commodities to the private sector," it said.

The Department said that it asked government for the implementation of submarine allowances, which would "greatly assist" with the retention of these individuals.

"Despite this loss of scarce skills, the South African Navy is able to meet all capability requirements as specified in its strategic business plan, and to meet all ordered commitments," the DoD said.

Source: Engineering News

The SA Navy has dismissed claims that one of the three German submarines bought in the arms deal is a "dud", and says the SAS Manthatisi S101 is in Simon's Town naval drydock as part of "normal naval procedure".

The navy has also denied claims that submariners were "too afraid" to do the first safety dive on another of the submarines, SAS Queen Modjadji S103, saying it was standard procedure that the contractors' crew completed sea acceptance trials prior to the handover of the vessels to the purchaser.

SAS Queen Modjadji skipper, Commander Andrew Souma, said yesterday that the South African crew had since taken the vessel to its dive limit "hundreds of times".

"There has been no drama with this boat," Souma said.

The navy was reacting to claims in the Sunday Times that SAS Manthatisi S101 had been "plagued by defects" and had spent most of the past six months out of water.

The article said problems on the submarine included defects in the hull valve, an implosion of the air intake for diesel on its maiden voyage and an implosion on board when the submarine had been connected to an onshore power supply, contrary to correct procedure.

Rear Admiral Hanno Teuteberg, director of fleet force preparedness, said: "SAS Manthatisi is not a dud. We said we would run two and have one in reserve."

Teuteberg was asked to comment on the claims yesterday during a meeting in Simon's Town of the directors-general of the justice, crime prevention and security (JCPS) cluster and the SA Police Service Sea Borderline Control Unit. The navy is part of the JCPS.

Teutenberg said it was normal naval procedure to rotate submarines, which was "the way navies do things". While two were being deployed, the third was used for on-board training, which did away with the need to send crew to Germany to be trained. The vessel would not come back into operation until around this time next year.

"There has been talk of explosions. There was never any explosion on any South African submarine."

Reporters at the meeting were given a press statement issued by the Department of Defence on Friday that said the SAS Manthatisi had initially had hull valve problems that had been rectified under the manufacturer's warranty.

Naval staff said it was standard practice to push a new vessel to its limit under warranty so defects could be detected and rectified.

During such testing in Norwegian waters, the housing for the air- intake for the diesel had imploded and had been widely reported at the time. The statement said the German navy had congratulated the SA Navy at the time for its "prompt reaction and expertise displayed during the incident". There had not been any implosion during a battery change.

Teuteberg said South African submariners were highly trained and "some of the best in the world".

The statement said that, because South Africa had some of the best naval training in the world, it was losing highly qualified staff to the private sector and countries overseas. The navy had taken steps to address the loss of skilled staff. These included recruitment and submissions for more pay in the form of allowances.

Source: Cape Time, 06 Aug 2008

Serving time at sea is no longer a requirement for a top post in the South African Navy.

Both the Chief of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Johannes Mudimu, and the navy's next Master at Arms, Warrant Officer Pragasen Moodley, who will take up position early next year, were appointed without serving time at sea.

The Master at Arms is the disciplinary co-ordinator for all uniformed staff.

A retired senior navy officer, who asked not to be named, said the fact that the two key members holding these vital positions in the navy hadn't served time at sea was a "complete joke".

He said there was no way anyone could run the navy without serving time aboard ship.

"These guys have no credibility. How can they expect to lead the country's mariners if they have no idea what it's like working at sea? They can't stand in front of a group of senior officers and tell them what to do.

"Maybe that's why the navy is in such a mess."

In response, Defence Department spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said the fundamental requirement for those appointed into leadership positions in the armed forces was to demonstrate sound leadership.

Characteristics such as visionary thinking and the ability to inspire and motivate members at every level in the organisation were what was most critical.

"In keeping with military norms, we require that our leaders are role models - persons who epitomise the code of conduct and value system of the organisation in which they serve, " said Dlamini.

"Thus they need, first and foremost, to be persons of principle who are able to lead men and women into difficult and dangerous circumstances in a manner that is befitting of our Constitution and of the people whom we serve."

Dlamini said while being required to operate strategically, people placed in senior positions also needed to have a good understanding of the core business of the organisation - which was, in the case of the navy, fighting at sea.

He said both Mudimu and Moodley would need to have "very good insight" into this.

"We are proud to affirm that the track records of the incumbents of both posts bear testament to the fact that they have demonstrated, and continue to demonstrate, leadership of the highest order."

Vice-Admiral Mudimu served witin the ranks of uMkonto we Sizwe from 1975 until the integration of the forces in 1994, serving in broad range of posts across Africa.

Prior to his appointment as the Chief of the Navy in March 2005, Mudimu served in the South African National Defence Force "across the full spectrum of organisational processes, including the inspector general, fleet staff and naval staff process".

"It is such diverse experience, gained in such broad range of contexts, which truly prepares military professionals for positions of leadership," said Dlamini.

"Both Vice-Admiral Mudimu and Warrant Officer Moodley have fully immersed themselves in the sea-going environment, and as such may be held to understand all aspects thereof as may be required of them to execute their leadership positions in the way in which military organisations the world over might demand."

Mudimu has been to sea since being appointe.

Source: Cape Argus, 7 June

The South African Navy has launched a stringent deterrence campaign against foreign vessels fishing illegally in the ecologically sensitive waters of Marion and Prince Edward islands, following its first successful submarine patrol there.

The SAS Charlotte Maxeke, a year-old submarine, made her debut patrol of the area around the two islands last month, becoming the first to succeed in gathering sufficient intelligence in these waters.

The region is renowned for its rough seas, spurred on by stormy weather.

With waves commonly reaching five metres, ships have previously been unsuccessful in patrolling the islands, which lie about 2 300km off the False Bay coast.

The waters surrounding Marion and Prince Edward islands, which were annexed by South Africa in 1947 and 1953 respectively, have been declared an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), making the marine resources available to South Africa only.

However, the SA Navy, mandated to protect the area, has aimed at investigating "the possible involvement by a foreign company or country in pillaging (the) marine resources" there, a SA Navy statement said.

Commander Roland Shortt, the SAS Charlotte Maxeke's captain, said the operation had kicked off on May 22, when the submarine had left for Marion Island with a crew of 32.

They had made a "discreet transit" to and from the Simon's Town Naval Base, making them undetected by any foreign vessels they were investigating.

He said they "gained intelligence", or evidence of illegal fishing, on a number of vessels, which would then be referred to Marine and Coastal Management and the police.

This information had been gathered mainly using equipment such as still cameras and an optronic mast, an advanced type of periscope that was able to use heat-detecting infra-red technology to catch illegal fishers in the act, day or night.

They were not, however, in the position to divulge the information they obtained.

Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) Hanno Teuteberg, the director of Fleet Force Preparation, said the patrol had not been successful before because they did not have the required equipment, including the submarines.

This had become possible with the arrival of the final deliveries of new frigates and submarines, which are included in the Strategic Defence Package. They now had three submarines, two of which would be available for patrols, while the other underwent maintenance.

In light of the SAS Charlotte Maxeke's triumph, Teuteberg said they would carry out many similar operations.

Source: Independent Online

Robben Island Museum has confirmed that cultural artefacts on the island, dating from the Second World War have been stolen.

However, it has not been able to confirm that these artefacts - including brass fittings and other metal from historical facilities like old gun emplacements - have been stripped for their scrap metal value.

It says it is working closely with the SA Navy to protect the remaining Second World War artefacts on the island, a World Heritage Site.

Source: Independent Online

South Africa's military top brass have warned that the rate at which soldiers, sailors, pilots and technical personnel are being poached from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) poses a serious threat to the country.

The loss of pilots to the Australian Air Force alone recently prompted the chief of the South African Air Force Lt-Gen Carlo Gagiano to appeal to his Australian counterpart for an end to the poaching.

"I said to him: this is not on, you can't keep poaching from me. He promised me it was not him or his force, that it was other organisations, but I think I need to follow up on that conversation," he told MPs last week.

"I said to him: this is not on, you can't keep poaching from me"

The military officers were presenting the SANDF's strategic plan for the next three years to the national council of provinces' select committee on defence and constitutional affairs.

Even musicians are in demand as a military violinist was recently recruited by a foreign fighting force. But the exodus of technicians and other specialists is far more serious.

The air force lost 218 technical specialists last year and 253 the year before. Fifty more packed their bags in the first three months of this year and April alone saw 23 technicians leave for greener pastures. Pilots are also leaving in droves.

"I have lost my Cheetah Squadron Commander to the Australian Air Force, my Hawk Squadron Commander, my senior instructor on the Hawks and just yesterday I heard that my most knowledgeable person on the Oryx helicopter is now leaving for the Australian Air Force," complained Gagiano.

He warned that the loss of air crews, particularly to the Middle and Far East, "is going to have a huge impact on the economy of the country".

'Every week the navy loses people, even Africans'

All in all, the SANDF lost 910 technicians in 2007 - more than 11 percent of its entire technical staff. One official explained that this would seem like an acceptable loss of skills to some, but that the amount of money and time that went into training these members would make it impossible for the SANDF to get a return on their investment.

It has also caused a juniorisation of technical staff, leaving only a handful of experienced personnel to guide and mentor the rest who average two or three years of experience.

Chief of policy and planning in the defence secretariat Tsepe Motumi said the problem was "across the board" in the SANDF and that the organisations was suffering from "poaching on a month-to-month basis".

Chief of the SA Navy V-Adm Johannes Mudimu sketched a dismal picture of sailors, divers, submariners and navy engineers leaving for higher wages elsewhere.

"Many divers are going to Nigeria to work on the oil rigs. Others are going to the Central African Republic to work in their oil industry. We have members who have left for Australia, New Zealand and the British Royal Navy," he said.

But the haemorrhaging of skills is not only attributed to foreign recruiters.

Local aviation companies, engineering firms, transport companies and the merchant navy are also stripping the military of much needed skills.

According to Mudimu, the Airports Company of South Africa (Acsa) has recruited many navy drivers and fire-fighters as the company gears up for the anticipated influx soccer enthusiasts in 2010.

Merchant mariners apparently lure young navy cadets literally under the noses of military brass. "We train them for three or four years at universities and technical colleges. They are sought-after individuals.

"You know, when I attend a parade to graduate these members, there are people in the audience with fat cheques. By the time I give him a trophy this youngster has already entered into an agreement (with another employer)," said Mudimu.

In other cases, companies or foreign governments simply buy South Africans out of their study contracts.

The navy chief conceded that losing trained personnel to the South African economy was "not so bad", but complained that many companies in the field no longer spent money on their own human resource development, they simply wait for the military to train staff.

He also emphasised that the problem was not limited to white military officers.

"Every week the navy loses people, even Africans. When we were building these new frigates in Germany, we sent a lot of blacks to Germany to train. When they came back they served the navy for one or two years and then they all left," he complained.

He said the navy lost 75 Africans last year.

The SANDF has set aside R408-million to provide incentives to those with scarce skills, but officials pointed out that, in the long run, the demand for skills was a global phenomenon and that it is hard for South Africa to compete.

Source: The Daily News