Publication: Sunday Times Issued: Date: 2010-11-16 Reporter: Sapa Reporter:

Navy short of submariners, MPs told

 

Publication 

Sunday Times
Date

2010-11-16
Reporter Sapa

Web Link

www.thetimes.co.za


Even were it not laid up for repairs, the SA Navy submarine SAS Manthatisi could not put to sea because it did not have a trained crew, MPs heard on Tuesday.



The South African Navy's new submarine, S101 arives in Simonstown 7 April 2006
File Picture Photograph by: Trevor Samson


Briefing members of Parliament's defence portfolio committee, the SA Navy's chief director maritime strategy, Rear-Admiral Bernhard Teuteberg, said the fact that the submarine was currently dry-docked at the Simon's Town naval dockyard was "not only the batteries".

Earlier this year, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, in a written reply to a parliamentary question, said the Manthatisi was languishing in the submarine shed at the naval base "to minimise exposure to the elements while its batteries are being subjected to maintenance".

Teuteberg, who said the submarine had been out of operation for "about three years", said there were a number of other reasons too.

"One of them was the lack of submarine-trained personnel and the fact that I really only had two full crews for two submarines.

"Therefore... to ensure that I kept two submarines operational in order to train new crews -- because, as you will know, I need to go to sea in order to give people training -- we made a conscious decision... to rather not bring Manthatisi back earlier.

"[We would] leave her where she is and concentrate on the two in the water, in order to create a bigger manpower pool sooner."

He said the submarine was also being prepared for a "major overhaul", although the boat was not being physically worked on at the moment.

"We are in the planning stage, with assistance from... the manufacturer and other people in order to plan this very, very complex exercise of doing a major overhaul.

"At this stage, the prognosis is that by the end of 2013 she will be fully operational. That is when we want to take the next submarine out of the water and do her major overhaul. So it all ties in," he said.

Teuteberg also shed more light on problems that have beset the five-year-old Manthatisi, the first of the SAN's three new Type-209 sub-surface combat vessels.

One was a "bash" the boat had sustained when putting to sea on a stormy day.

"The entrance to the submarine base is too small for this type of submarine with one screw. We did touch the quay [with the aft plane] and bent plates slightly upwards.

"We immediately took the submarine out of the water and checked its water-tight integrity... the only damage was [the plane] which was bent upwards."

Teuteberg said there were now plans to widen the entrance to the submarine pen "so that there is more space".

On problems the submarine had with its batteries, he said there had been "an excessive build-up of hydrogen within the batteries" when they were charged.

This was solved by the installation of a "hydrogen release valve", which caused excess gas to be sucked out of the boat when it was charging.

A number of the batteries were damaged to the extent they would have to be replaced, and the manufacturer had indicated this would be done free of charge.

On a problem with blown fuses in the submarine, Teuteberg said someone had connected some wires "the wrong way round".

This had happened because the wires had not been marked properly.

Responding later to a question, he said the person responsible had been disciplined.

"A board of inquiry was convened and... a person was held responsible; he was reprimanded," Teuteberg sai


While it is sad that the 5 year old R3 billion submarine is not operational and is awaiting a R1,5 billion repair, this is life - shit happens.

But what is really sad is that one of the very top general officers in the SANDF, a senior rear admiral lies to Parliament and the public - and quite so blatantly.

As sad is that no one in Parliament either knows that he is lying - although he lying admiral gives it all away in the same briefing - or that they are doing anything about it.

Firstly, this is not some little problem with the batteries, this is a major catastrophic explosion which caused all the batteries to be damaged such that they need to be replaced, plus all of the charging equipment and much of the electronics. Then after three years without power and consequent condensation the rest of the electronics and cabling is in a less than sea-going state of repair.

And how could a person be held responsible and disciplined if the wires were incorrectly marked?

This is just plain bullshit.

If the cables were incorrectly marked this would be a manufacturer fault.

But hardly - after two or three years after delivery and training - on that very vessel.

My information that the incorrect procedure was used. The batteries were completely discharged after the boat had been in the drydock for several months and using shore power. The correct procedure is to commence recharging at a much reduced initial charging current, then increase the charging current as the battery voltage reconstitutes its normal value. But the persons responsible for doing this were not trained on Type 209's and there used Daphne procedures, which (being French) are different. This over-current caused an explosion which caused about R250 million worth of damage. Subsequent neglect has caused so much more damage that the vessel require a major refit requiring the boat to be barged to Germany and a total price tag or around R1,5 billion.

This same rear admiral was recently brought to court martial by another rear admiral regarding some minor labour disputes in the SAN and SANDF.

Maybe he needs another court martial to persuade him that lying to Parliament is a criminal offence.

It's called fraud.

Tony Yengeni went to  jail, but not for very long (but that is another story in itself), for defrauding Parliament by lying to it

Chippy Shaik as Chief of Acquisitions also lied to Parliament. I was there, I heard it with my own ears and saw it being said with my own eyes. It's on the transcripts. Andrew Feinstein perceived it right there and then.

But Chippy has much greater top cover than Yengeni and this clear allegation was not even followed up by anyone in Parliament.Since then he has even got The Society of Clenched Testicles to get the clear of bribery and corruptions investigations ever known in the history of humankind to be abandoned.

With not a whisper from Parliament and barely one from the 4th Estate.

As Bheki Jacobs once told me in around 2005, five years after first meeting and starting our anti-corruption mission, "now is the time to start cutting some bucks of my own".

May he rest in peace.

With acknowledgements to Sapa and Sunday Times.