Incorporating the SA Agulhas II into naval fleet could save millions
WHEN False Bay residents opened their curtains on Wednesday last week, they would have seen a merchant ship steaming slowly towards Simon’s Bay.
With naval tugs in attendance, the 5 408-deadweight feeder ship Anna Chris, that is on charter to Angola South Line for their service between Cape Town and Angola, entered the harbour.
On the following day, the Antiguan-registered vessel drydocked in the Selborne Graving Dock as the Robinson Drydock in Cape Town is undergoing routine maintenance and Sturrock Drydock has a problem with its pumps, not the most inspiring advertisement for our shiprepair facilities.
Anna Chris will be in Simon’s Town for several more days before returning to the Angolan trade that is less brisk these days, given the crisis in the international oil industry.
Other merchant ships – mainly fishing craft – also use Simon’s Town occasionally. Recently, a small stern trawler was on the navy’s synchrolift.
About 17 years ago, I saw one of Cape Town’s harbour tugs arriving off the naval harbour, a sight probably last seen during World War 2 when that powerful twin-screw harbour tug Lugwig Wiener arrived in Simon’s Bay from Cape Town to ferry troops to troopships anchored in the bay.
Following the harbour tug on that more recent occasion was Snow Drift, one of the eight magnificent “Snowboats” that were built in France in the early 1970s.
These reefer ships were designed for the Caribbean banana trade and could be loaded or discharged by conventional cranes or by forklifts via side hatches in the hull.
As one of his tugs was undergoing a refit, the naval harbour master had requested the assistance of the Cape Town tug, particularly as the harbour is so exposed to the south-easter, and turning the ship in its narrow confines would require the power and versatility of the Voith-Schneider propulsion system.
The reefer vessel berthed at the outer wall at Simon’s Town, and a day or two later, a second Snowboat arrived, also assisted by the Cape Town tug.
Both ships drydocked and underwent extensive refits in Simon’s Town prior to the start of the local fruit season.
One of those ships returned to Simon’s Town the following year and was joined by another sistership.
With the naval tug fleet at full strength, no outside help was needed. The Snowboats traded for about 38 years!
Other unusual visitors have visited Simon’s Town recently. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary Gold Rover was the first of the latest callers, spending several weeks alongside; then came the frigate HMS Portland that had been on a protracted patrol from the UK via Suez, the Arabian Gulf and Durban.
Contrary to the usual practice when British warships are in port, Simon’s Town restaurants have not been inundated with Liverpudlian or Jordy accents or Highland lilts as the crew have been on an extended period of rest and recreation, some going home on leave.
Others will enjoy the delights of the Cape – shark-cage diving, mountain biking and other macho exploits – before the frigate sails for duties on the South Atlantic patrol.
The Nigerian navy’s new patrol vessel NNS Unity arrived over the weekend from her builder’s yard in China en route to Nigeria.
Once the usual round of welcoming parties in Nigeria is over, she will be thrust into active service to repel and hopefully capture the pirates operating in the anchorages along that coast.
Also in port is the hydrographic survey ship Protea, shortly to be replaced.
Why can’t the state-of-the-art SA Agulhas II be modified for that function as well as her usual Antarctic role? It will save millions!