Navy chief fires broadside at Armscor
South Africa’s navy chief this week blamed state munitions company Armscor for the fact that much of his fleet can no longer go to sea, at a time when the country urgently needs to protect its coastline.
He said the capacity crisis at the navy’s Armscor-managed Simon’s Town dockyard could have “disastrous” consequences as it coincides with a massive increase in vessel traffic in local waters and along with it a heightened threat of terrorism.
Speaking at a medal ceremony in Cape Town on Thursday, Vice-Admiral Monde Lobese launched a blistering broadside at Armscor, which took over management of the Simon’s Town dockyard in 2005.
Lobese said Armscor no longer has the capacity to fix the navy’s ships despite receiving “hundreds of millions” in transfer payments.
He said he is consulting senior state officials, including defence minister Thandi Modise, on how best to “divorce” Armscor and resuscitate the fleet.
“As the chief of the navy, I have reached the end of my patience with [Armscor’s] inability to repair the South African Navy ships. I have engaged the CEO of Armscor on numerous opportunities in order to resolve this situation. I am waiting for the senior management of the SANDF and the minister to guide me in establishing the way forward, but I firmly believe the current way in which the Armscor Dockyard functions cannot continue,” Lobese said.
“I believe it is high time that the South African Navy formally announces divorce proceedings with the dockyard. Now that I am chief of the navy, I am no longer willing to be held prisoner or be undermined by Armscor Dockyard.
“Something must give in this marriage between the navy and the Armscor Dockyard, or we must allow it to end, as the navy is getting very little return on investment.”
Lobese went further to compare his successful 25-year marriage with his wife to the unhappy union between the navy and Armscor. “I met my wife 30 years ago, and I am celebrating 25 years of loving marriage with her this year. During this time our marriage has produced so many things, including three beautiful children and a loving home. When I compare the 19-year-long marriage between the Dockyard and the navy, there is nothing that I can say has been produced.”
Navy capability has been in the spotlight for years due to budget constraints and failure to maintain the fleet, notably the arms deal frigates and submarines.
Whereas the dockyard used to carry out key repairs in-house, much of the work is now outsourced.
Lobese, the former director of fleet logistics (DFL), said Armscor was effectively an outsourcing agent, not a refit authority like dockyards in other functioning navies.
“In 2012 and 2013 — as DFL — I outsourced the refits of offshore patrol vessels, frigates and submarines due to the lack of capacity of Dockyard. Now in 2024, I must outsource the same thing, while the Dockyard is just receiving money from the navy. This is wasteful expenditure and I cannot in good faith allow this to continue.”
The crisis coincides with a huge increase in vessel traffic through South African territorial waters due to the security crisis in the Red Sea in the Middle East, which has forced many shipping lines to divert ships around the Cape.
“Yesterday [Wednesday] at 8am there were 1,528 ships in our exclusive economic zone, and this is what the picture looks like each day of the year,” Lobese said, adding that South Africa was a geographic chokepoint that could well be targeted by international terrorists.
“We are living in a world where tensions can easily escalate into conflict. Our country is ravaged by international fleets of ships that come at night and strip our seas of fish that belong to us. International terrorists can threaten the ships travelling past our coastline, thus dragging us into their conflicts.
“Our country’s largest external security threat will come from our seas, and not from land. If we cannot secure our coastline the consequences for our country will be disastrous. That is why our government must capacitate the South African Navy with more funds, more ships, better and more modern equipment and more personnel.”
Two dockyard workers this week said they supported Lobese’s call to dump Armscor.
“The dockyard has been mismanaged,” said a long-time dockyard worker who declined to be identified. “People are genuinely concerned. The only way forward is for this wound to be opened so people are aware of what is happening.”
Another well-placed source said the original intention had been for Armscor to generate revenue through commercial work at the dockyard — in addition to naval maintenance — but that the project had failed. “It seems the capacity is not there,” he said.
However, the navy has also come under fire for accelerating capacity decline by cancelling a long-standing maintenance contract with a well-established maritime service company.
The contract was instead awarded to another company that is the subject of a priority crime investigation into multiple allegations of corruption and fraud amounting to more than R100m, the Sunday Times reported in July 2023.
Armscor spokesperson Stephens Ledwaba said it would respond next week.