Batch of SA-built boats will make inaccessible areas easier to patrol

The South African Navy may have recently received new submarines and frigates to patrol SA’s seas and coastal areas, but its acquisitions are far from over.

Apart from the controversial corvettes and submarines that form part of the R47,4bn arms deal, the navy needs to equip itself for new crimes such as piracy, terrorism, human trafficking and drug smuggling that crime syndicates often commit in unguarded coastal and riverine areas .

The navy says it has taken stock of these activities and has set up a specialised unit to tackle criminal and terror threats that the country has long been unable to address because of a lack of human and technological resources.

The unit is the first Maritime Reaction Squadron to be set up since the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was established in 1994 , and this time the navy is looking to a local company for its new boats.

When recently commissioning the squadron , navy chief V-Adm Johannes Mudimu promised to provide proper equipment.

Mudimu says inland areas require different kinds of equipment to enable the maritime reaction squadron to conduct successful operations in awkward coastal and riverine areas.

According to Cpt Nick Marais, the navy’s inshore and riverine equipment acquisition programme, code-named Project Xena, will involve the purchase of 16 boats, trailers for the boats, and a floating jetty.

Since the squadron’s operations will involve leaving the headquarters for months to patrol once unguarded dams and rivers, Marais — who is Xena project officer — says this has necessitated the purchase of a mobile base camp that will be equipped with command, control and communications technology. It also means that transport for this equipment to various locations, as well as appropriate armaments, is required.

The navy is evaluating its prototype Project Xena riverine patrol boat that was delivered to the squadron in Simon’s Town this month .

Marais says the navy has ordered five of the 16 boats it requires for rigorous testing. Each of these specially designed boats costs at least R4m, and will be tested and modified to suit the needs of the unit’s multi-functional expectations.

All five boats will be delivered by the end of the military’s year, in March. The remaining ones will be delivered over the next three years, and will incorporate adjustments from the lessons learnt from the prototype trials .

Marais says the navy is proud of the fact that it ordered the boats from the Cape Town-based Vee Craft Marine (VCM) company under a fixed-price contract.

“This means that we are recognising our local expertise and talent, and that we are spending the resources we have right here at home … I believe that is value for money and that the navy is doing its share in the development of our economy.”

Asked why the VCM company was considered a viable partner, Marais says although the prototype has been designed internally by navy technicians , the VCM company became the natural choice because it is regarded as expert in aluminium hull design. “We came to the conclusion that aluminium is quite easy to maintain; it is lighter, but stronger.

“When you deploy outside our borders and you get damage to your hull, it is extremely difficult under rough conditions to repair glass fibre (commonly used by other boat manufacturers). With the aluminium, you just weld on a patch and the boat is ready to function,” Marais says.

He says the Xena boat has been fitted with built-in water jets so it can cross sandbanks, vegetation and shallows. It will be tested not only in SA’s waters but in major African rivers and lakes .

According to Capt Solly Petersen, commanding officer of the Maritime Reaction Squadron, the targeted lakes include Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi, which were some of the training venues for members of the squadron in an effort to help them acclimatise to the challenging African terrain.

The navy has been using Namacurra class harbour patrol boats. The special squadrons have been given at least six of these patrol boats and six Lima utility landing craft. Both types are fitted with outboard motors.

Marais says with the new prototype, the boats will make riverine areas economical to patrol . These boats will enable the marines to intercept or interdict illegal activities because “they have a very high thrust-to-power ratio and are faster than the aging Namacurra”.

The boat takes a crew of four and can carry six reaction force division commandos. The area where the commandos are carried can also be used for cargo. “It’s just four clips, the seats come out and cargo goes in,” Marais says.

Petersen adds that the boats can easily be used for medical support and disaster relief, which has been a required feature of boats ordered by some of the Southern African Development Community countries.

SA, Zambia and Mozambique are prone to floods, which make overland rescue operations difficult. Petersen argues that this kind of boat would be ideal because “it can go into shallow water, bring out people in remote and distressed areas and take in food and water”.

Marais fondly refers to the boat as a “multipurpose pickup truck on water” that can easily transport eight personnel or 1500kg of equipment or disaster relief provisions.

He says because the boats will be equipped with advanced communications equipment, SA’s foreign policy of peaceful resolutions in conflict areas and providing disaster relief in distressed regions could be a model for United Nations operations.

The squadron is being trained to offer all kinds of assistance, including fighting unconventional threats to the state and providing support to peacekeeping operations. Petersen says the unit will soon have the necessary equipment to carry out its functions, including the capability to defend SANDF peacekeeping forces.

With light machine guns on board these boats will not only ensure “the safety of our deployed peacekeeping soldiers, but sustain the integrity of the country’s foreign policy”.

With acknowledgements to Hopewell Radebe and Business Day.