Keel laid for third South African navy patrol vessel
Ceremonial welder Lucian Norman, a second-year apprentice at Damen Shipyards Cape Town Training Centre, with Speaker Vice Admiral Mosuwa Samuel Hlongwane, Chief of South African Navy, at the keel-laying ceremony (Source: Damen)
A keel-laying ceremony for a third multi-mission inshore patrol vessel (MMIPV) has taken place at Damen Shipyards Cape Town. The MMIPV is being built for the South African Navy and will enable a faster response to threats including illegal trafficking and fishing.
Adv. Solomzi Mbada, CEO of the Armaments Corporation of South Africa (Armscor), explained that the project had been organised to maximise local participation and to ensure that the vessels will be supported locally, to minimise life-cycle support costs. “The acquisition strategy for this project included Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) equipment as well as compliance with the Department of Trade and Industry’s 60% local content shipbuilding designation requirement, Defence Industrial Participation (DIP) and National Industrial Participation (NIP),” he said. “The strategy further acted as an impetus for the shipyard to improve its local infrastructure and investment in human resources, creating jobs that are much-needed to boost the South African economy and help reduce the high unemployment rate.”
The Damen shipyard’s managing director, Jankees Trimpe Burger, commented: “The project undertakes serves as a demonstration of Damen Maritime Security Solutions in action. With this initiative, Damen not only delivers a ship, but also a total maritime solution, encompassing every aspect of vessel operation throughout the lifecycle as well as a contribution to a sustainable maritime industry in the region in which it operates.”
The project has created over 300 direct jobs and more than 1,000 indirect jobs in line with the South African Government’s Operation Phakisa objectives.
