The power of the sea has finally been brought to the people - in the form of the 3 600 ton SAS Mendi.

The Mendi, the latest in South Africa's newly acquired MEKO A-200 patrol corvettes, docked in Durban yesterday after a lightning fast cruise from East London.

The Mendi, the country's fourth Valour corvette, is currently on port deployment around South Africa where its harbour handling characteristics are being evaluated.

The ship's sisters, SAS Amatola, SAS Isandlwana and SAS Spioenkop, are currently being equipped with their combat suites in Simonstown before undergoing their sea trials.

The ships' armaments will include a 76mm gun, twin 35mm and 20mm guns, eight surface-to-surface Exocet missiles and 16 Umkhonto air defence missiles.

Each corvette will have a Agusta-Westland SuperLynx helicopter based on board which will be used to hunt and destroy submarines and provide intelligence and information on enemy ships.

The Mendi's combat suite is to be fitted from early December.

The ships are designed so that they can be upgraded within hours to fit more modern and highly sophisticated weapons and combat suites.

The four corvettes are set to patrol South Africa's coastline for the next 40 years on deployments of up to six months in search of sea pirates, drug smugglers and in support of South Africa's various peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The new corvettes, along with the navy's submarines, expected to arriving from 2007, are part of the plan to rejuvenate the South African Navy.

The corvettes are to replace the strike craft flotilla while the country's collection of minesweepers, patrol craft and the hydrographic survey vessel, SAS Protea, are to be phased out by 2010. They will be replaced by a new class of multi-purpose vessels that can carry out all these functions.

Speaking to the media at sea off the Eastern Cape coastline yesterday on the Mendi's harbour trials, naval spokesman Commander Brian Stockton said it was an excellent opportunity to gain experience in manoeuvring the vessel in and out of the country's ports. "It is the perfect time to show our country's citizens what they own and to demonstrate the ship's capabilities and our true strength in protecting South Africa."

Talking about the rejuvenation of the navy's vessels Rear Admiral Philip Schoultz, chief director of naval maritime strategy, said that between six and 10 of these multi-purpose vessels were expected to enter service from 2010.

With acknowledgements to Graeme Hosken and the Pretoria News.