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

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

SAS Amatola receives the refuelling probe during a RAS between FGS Berlin & SAS Amatola - Image: SA Navy

25 February 2008 dawned a clear and sunny day in the naval harbour of Naval Base Simon’s Town. It is here that Task Group 501, comprising of South African and German Naval vessels commenced on EXERCISE GOOD HOPE III. EXERCISE GOOD HOPE III is a multinational exercise between the German Armed Forces (Navy and Air Force) and the SANDF (mainly the Navy and Air Force) taking place in the Cape Town, Simon’s Town and Overberg area.

Our day started at 0800B when the Officer Commanding (OC) Captain Michael Girsa, briefed his ships company on the flight deck. The OC welcomed all the new members that had joined the ship for the Exercise. He furthermore passed his appreciation to the ships company for a job well done in getting the ship ready to sail as scheduled. The OC spoke of the forthcoming days’ events and how only good habits would help through this exercise. After a meticulous final check, the naval tugs assisted helped this operationally ready warship out of port. SAS AMATOLA sailed at 0900B.

At 1145B, ‘hands to flying stations’ was piped. An Oryx Helicopter from AFB Ysterplaat landed on the flight deck while SAS AMATOLA sailed out of False Bay. SAS AMATOLA plays host to the Commander Task Group (CTG) 501.02 Captain Steven-Jennings and his staff. The Task Force is divided into two Task Groups, with Captain Michael Budde of the Federal German Navy as CTG 501.01 which comprises of FGS HAMBURG, FGS KÖLN, FGS BERLIN, FGS WESTERWALD and task group 501.02 comprising the SAS DRAKENSBERG, SAS ISLANDWANA, SAS AMATOLA, SAS GALESHEWE, SAS ISAAC DHYOBA, SAS UMKOMAAS.

Similar exercises have been conducted twice in the past, between the Armed Forces of the two countries. These exercises are the largest undertaken by the German Defence Force outside of its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) obligations. Good relationships exist between Germany and South Africa, not only on the military side but also politically and economically. The SAS AMATOLA is expecting to exercise drills and evolutions enabling training of the new personnel that have joined the ship in the art of modern naval warfare. It is expected that the crew will gain a lot of understanding and skills from this exercise. The task group will be alongside over the weekends with our first port of call being the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town for some much needed rest and recovery. Until then the five day passage will be filled exercises and training.

Source: www.navy.mil.za

SAS QUEEN MODJADJI (S103), the third and final submarine to be built in Germany for the South African Navy, was handed over to a South African crew at a ceremony in Kiel, Germany last Thursday (31 January 2008), who will now complete their training in her before sailing the boat out to South Africa.

SAS MANTHATISI (S101), the navy’s first Meko class 209 submarine arrives in Simon’s Town in April 2006 to a large welcome. The third and final submarine of this order, SAS QUEEN MODJADJI was handed over officially to the South African Navy last week and will arrive home in May, a little over two years after the first. - Image: SA Navy

The submarine is expected to depart Germany on 2 April, arriving in Simon’s Town on 22 May where she will join her two sisters, SAS MANTHATISI (S101) and SAS CHARLOTTE MAXEKE (S102).

The new submarine is one of three Meko class 209, Type 1400MOD and is 62m in length and 7.6m wide. She displaces 1450 tons surfaced and about 1590 tons submerged. The sub is powered by four MTU 12V 396 diesel engines which give her a speed of 10 knots surfaced and 21,5 knots dived.

For weapons the submarine is armed with 14 torpedoes. She carries a crew of 30.

Delivery of the submarine completes the controversial naval element of the arms deal.

The boat is named for the legendry Rain Queen Queen Makobo Constance Modjadji (pronounced Moo-jad-chi) who died in 2001 and who, it is said in some quarters, was descended from the house of the kingdom of Monomotapa, the kingdom credited with the creation of the Zimbabwe Ruins. In her lifetime Queen Mudjadji was ruler of the Balobedu people and known internationally as a rain-maker. The role of the rain queen was immortalised by 19th Century writer Rider Haggard in his book ‘She’, as ‘She who must be obeyed’.

Source: ports.co.za

From 18 February to 18 March the seas and skies surrounding Cape Town will be used to conduct military exercises between South Africa and Germany. This series of exercises will be called EXERCISE GOOD HOPE III.

This will be the third time that military exercises will be conducted in South African waters between the two countries, with the last exercise taking place two years ago. During this year's exercise there will be more than 1 800 personnel, 15 ships and 16 aircraft from both countries taking part.

The "theatre of operations" will be around Cape Town and some exercises will be conducted at the Overberg Military Test Area near Bredasdorp and Arniston/Waenhuiskrans. Some of the types of exercises will include live missile and gun firings, anti-submarine warfare with mock torpedo attacks, anti-aircraft drills, fleetwork and maneuvering and more.

The objectives that both countries want to achieve with these exercises are:

• To enhance and maintain the comprehensive defence capabilities of the two armed forces.
• To develop a common understanding of military interoperability and foster mutual trust, respect and co-operation between the German Armed Forces and the SANDF.
• To upgrade operational means and methods of multi-national conventional forces by employing different types of equipment whilst conducting and exercising according to a common set of guiding principles.

The German Defence Force will be represented by two Frigates (FGS HAMBURG and FGS KÖLN) and two Combat Support Vessels (FGS BERLIN and FGS WESTERWALD), six Tornado Fighter Aircraft and two Lynx Helicopters. The SANDF will send three Frigates (SAS AMATOLA, SAS ISANDLWANA and SAS SPIOENKOP), one Submarine (SAS CHARLOTTE MAXEKE) two Strike Craft (SAS GALESHEWE and SAS ISAAC DYOBHA), two Minehunters (SAS UMZIMKULU and SAS UMKOMAAS), two Inshore Patrol Vessels (SAS TERN and SAS TOBIE) and the Combat Support Vessel SAS DRAKENSBERG. In addition to this there will also be six Cheetah Fighter Aircraft and two Oryx Helicopters.

The public of Cape Town will be invited to view the German vessels at the V&A Waterfront on Sat 01 Mar to Sun 02 Mar 08. Thereafter the public can view most of the SA Navy and German vessels during the annual Navy Festival from 14 -16 Mar 08 in Simon's Town.

Source: SA Navy

The SAS Manthatisi has become the first naval submarine in the world to be brought into a new class by the International Classification Society, Germanischer Lloyd, the South African Navy said on Tuesday.

"Through the Germanischer Lloyd certification of SAS Manthatisi, the SA Navy adds another "world first" to its long list of achievements," Captain Digby Thomson said.

Traditionally only merchant (civilian) vessels are required to undergo classification in order to obtain a safety certification for insurance purposes.

Thomson said that although other navies had used international classification societies to bring naval surface vessels into class, as was the case for the Australian Navy's Anzac class frigates, the SAS Manthatisi was the first naval submarine to be classified in this manner.

The SAS Charlotte Maxeke and SAS Queen Modjadji, the second and third of South Africa's new Class 209 Type 1400 (Mod SA) submarines, will also be undergoing Germanischer Lloyd certification in the near future, Thomson said.

Source: Mail & Guardian Online

S102 and S101 arriving in South Africa - Image: SA Navy

When SAS MANTHATISI arrived on 7 April 2006 she marked the beginning of a great voyage in the South African Navy that will further emphasise the mark the SA Navy has put on the global map.

The SA Navy welcomed its second submarine, SAS CHARLOTTE MAXEKE from Germany today in her homeport of Simon’s Town. S102 is the second of three submarines acquired by the South African Government as part of the Strategic Defence Package.

S102 in Simon's Town - Image: SA Navy

The South African Navy debuted its newest submarine on Thursday, a vessel that officers said would help solidify democracy and help in the battle against illegal traffickers.

The diesel-electric powered SAS Charlotte Maxeke is the second submarine of its type that South Africa has acquired, a 62-metre long, German-designed-and-built model that holds a crew of roughly 30.

There are 63 of the vessels deployed around the globe by 14 different navies. South Africa is scheduled to acquire another of the submarines in about a year.

Simon's Town - There is increasing pressure on South Africa to take up the role of post-conflict reconstruction in conflict areas, said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota on Thursday.

He said the country's commitments internationally would see an increasing number of obligations on the SA National Defence Force.

Lekota was speaking at the arrival of the SAS Charlotte Maxeke in Simon's Town on Thursday.

The vessel is the second of three new submarines acquired by the navy as part of the strategic defence package.

The submarine, named after the founder of the Bantu Women's League forerunner of the ANC Women's League, arrived from Germany where it was built.

Lekota said: "It is our opinion that the contribution of extra-continental role players in this arena (post-conflict reconstruction) would continue to reduce, leaving the obligation to South Africa, the Southern African Development Community and the African Union."

Source: News24.com