The SA Navy is losing engineers to the lucrative oil industries of Angola and Nigeria, where they work on rigs.

Navy chief Johannes Mudimu said yesterday that engineers, trained at huge cost, were also leaving for the public and private sectors.

Mudimu, however, denied that this had left the navy with a critical shortage of skills.

"We train 650 recruits every year and many others are sponsored to study engineering at the University of Stellenbosch and Cape Peninsula University of Technology," he said.

"Scarce skills are in demand and we are aware of members who have obtained employment in the local maritime and associated industries and in countries such as Nigeria.

"While we will always view the loss of our members to external industries with concern, we recognise that our training is of the best and we are also contributing to the skills base of the country."

Mudimu was speaking in Simon's Town yesterday at the handing over of the SAS Isandlwana to Captain Bubele Mhlana - the first black man in SA to captain a frigate.

Mudimu said the government had inherited a navy in 1994 that was aged and obsolete.

Matriculants are brought through the military skills development programme and trained at SAS Saldanha before they are deployed in the navy or other sectors, such as the police, or as chefs in hotels.

Mudimu said fears last year about a lack of accommodation for recruits had been unfounded. The question arose when recruits complained they were being made to live on the ships.

"If you serve in the navy, you must be prepared to live on the ships because the navy's business is on the water and not on land," Mudimu said.

The navy is involved in operations to fight the poaching of marine resources.

"For three weeks in January, we participated in Operation Intexo, supporting Marine Coastal Management and the police, and protected about 38 000 abalone from poaching."

The government's commitments on the continent were increasing.

"This will result in an ever-higher demand for competent people who are prepared to deploy for extended periods.

"The retention of scarce skills is not only important but fundamental to the accomplishment of our strategic objectives."

With acknowledgement to Vusumuzi Ka Nzapheza and Cape Times.