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Armscor announces preferred bidders for new Navy ship projects

3rd March 2017

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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South Africa’s defence acquisition, disposals and research and development agency, Armscor, announced late last month the preferred bidders to supply ships for the South African Navy’s (SAN’s) Projects Biro and Hotel.

They are Damen Shipyards Cape Town and South African Shipyards. Project Biro is for the construction of three offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and three inshore patrol vessels (IPVs). Damen is the preferred bidder for both types. Project Hotel is for the construction of a new hydrographic survey ship, although the Armscor press release describes it as a “hydrographic survey capability”.

“During 2014, Armscor solicited offers on a multisource tender basis from prospective shipyards . . . On 15 February 2017, Armscor appointed the … preferred bidders, subject to the successful negotiation of detailed technical and commercial conditions, with the aim of arriving at a contracting position for the execution of the respective projects,” stated the agency. “Detailed commercial and technical negotiations with the preferred bidders will now commence with the relevant parties.”

Durban-based Southern African Shipyards describes itself as “Africa’s leading commercial, naval shipbuilding and ship repair company”. Its facilities include a graving dock, a floating dock, a repair quay and workshops. It was originally established in 1960 and has been building vessels of greatly varying sizes for several decades. For the SAN, it built six strike craft (large missile boats), two minehunters and the replenishment vessel SAS Drakensberg, the largest naval vessel ever built in South Africa.

Damen Shipyards has been active in South Africa since 2008, when it took over local company Farocean Marine (which was established in 1988). Farocean Marine and the Netherlands-based Damen Group had worked closely together for some 20 years before the latter acquired the former. The Dutch group expanded, upgraded and modernised the facility. Damen Shipyards Cape Town is 30%-owned by black empowerment company Montsi Investments. It is also involved in ship building and ship repair. Its customers include the SAN and other South African government agencies.

One of Armscor’s requirements for both Projects Biro and Hotel is a local content of 60%. This suggests that the vessels will be built in South Africa, not just fitted out here. Just over a year ago, the Department of Trade and Industry forecast that this local content requirement would see more than R6-billion spent within the country over a period of three or four years.

No details have yet been released on the designs of the new ships. Damen, for example, has a range of designs for both IPVs and OPVs, of varying sizes in both cases. Southern African Shipyards has partnered with Cape Town-based naval architecture and offshore engineering company 6Sigma on Project Hotel. The company’s online design portfolio does jot include survey ships, but does include an offshore support vessel design that could be adapted to become a hydrographic survey ship.

The new hydrographic survey ship will replace the current SAS Protea, which was originally commissioned in May 1972 – nearly 45 years ago. The Protea was the same design as the UK Royal Navy’s Hecla-class, the last of which was disposed of in 2001, being replaced by the Echo-class.

The new OPVs will replace the SAN’s current three OPVs, which are converted strike craft (missile boats), originally commissioned in the late 1970s and early 1980s and so are now 34 or more years old. The new vessels will be much larger and, therefore, more seaworthy and with more range and much greater endurance, as well as being able to operate a helicopter, allowing them to patrol a much greater area of sea.

The new IPVs will probably replace the current three T-class IPVs, which are very small, displacing only 36 t full load. These are now between 21 and 25 years old (elderly for craft of their size). Again, the new IPVs will be significantly larger than the craft they will likely replace, thus again providing increased seaworthiness, range and endurance.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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