The fleet’s in town – step aboard
AN OPEN invitation to visit three naval ships promises to be one of the main highlights of the Richards Bay Ports Festival, which is being staged over the weekend of September 26 and 27.
Two of the three ships are South African and the third is French, the patrol frigate FNS Floreal. They will be in Richards Bay to participate in this year’s Exercise Oxide, a joint multinational maritime exercise.
The two SA Navy ships are the hydrographic survey ship SAS Protea, also known as “The White Lady”, and the offshore patrol vessel and former strike craft SAS Isaac Dyobha.
All three vessels will be open to the public on both days of the festival, between 9am and 5pm. There is no charge to go on board, and visitors will be encouraged to obtain career information about the SA Defence Force.
FNS Floreal is the third of six surveillance frigates of the French Navy and was commissioned in 1992. They were designed for service in France’s far-flung dependencies which include the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, which is where Foreal is based.
The small frigate, 93m in length and displacing 2 950 tons fully laden, is constructed to commercial ship standards for low-cost maintenance but is nevertheless well fitted out for any unexpected activity.
This includes surface-to-surface Exocet missiles, a single 100mm multipurpose gun, two 20mm multipurpose guns and four 12.7mm Browning machine guns. The ship also carries a Panther helicopter.
The ship is powered by four diesel 2 200hp engines and three diesel-powered generators and has a top speed of 20 knots.
The ship has a complement of 99, of which 14 are officers, and includes a number of special forces personnel.
SAS Protea is equipped for the collection of oceanographic data for which it is fitted with special communications equipment. It has a complement of 124 including 10 officers.
Converted
SAS Isaac Dyobha is one of the four surviving fast offshore patrol vessels converted from missile strike craft. It was commissioned in 1979 and today carries a 76mm gun and lesser weapons and has a complement of 52, including seven officers.
Of the four patrol vessels one, SAS Adam Kok, is out of service on the synchrolift at Salisbury Island and is unlikely to re-enter active service with the navy.
According to a navy spokesman, the SA Navy and the French naval forces stationed in Reunion have a vested interest in protecting the shipping lanes in the Mozambique Channel.
As a result the concept of joint and multinational maritime training was established as Exercise Oxide.
“In addition to fostering regional military partnerships, the main purpose of the exercise is to exercise interoperability and develop plans between the Maritime Rescue Co-ordinating Centre in Cape Town and the Maritime Co-ordination Rescue Centre, La Reunion.
“Both entities should be ready to intervene in case of a maritime emergency, upon any foreign government request,” said Commander Cara Pratten, Exercise Oxide corporate communication officer.
Exercise Oxide is held every two years. It is conducted under the auspices of the chief, joint operations, of the SANDF.