The first of the four corvettes ordered by the South African Navy was named in a Hamburg dockyard in northern Germany on Friday.

The ship was named the SAS Amatola.

South Africa's First Lady Zanele Mbeki, Defence Minister Mosioua Lekota, SA National Defence Force Chief General Siphiwe Nyanda and other senior South African officials attended the function.

"This is a very auspicious day for a number of reasons. It is an important day for the SA Navy, the SA National Defence Force and an important day in the history of the relationship between South Africa and Germany," Lekota said in his speech.

"This corvette is the first major war vessel ever designed for South Africa's conditions and waters. It is the first new warship for this country in 16 years."

The new vessels are part of the government's multi-billion arms procurement package. The ships are to be delivered next year.

Lekota said: "The decision to buy the corvettes was the result of a long process of consultation and transformation whereby defence in South Africa becomes defence in a democracy."

He said the ships would also be used to guard the country's 3 000 km coastline.

"We are a maritime country both in terms of our economic exclusion zone, extensive maritime resources, and the fact that we are situated on a very important world waterway," Lekota said.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and Saturday Star.