Construction of the first of three inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) for the South African Navy (SAN) formally started with a keel-laying ceremony at Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) on February 23. The small ships are being acquired under the SAN’s Project Biro. The first one is expected to be completed in early 2021 and enter service in the middle of that year. The second should be delivered in 2022 and the third in 2023. Each IPV will have an overall length of 62.2 m, a beam (width) of 11 m and be able to achieve a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). Each vessel will have a crew of 40 and be able to accommodate another 22 personnel.

“The event today signifies the start of the building of Project Biro,” highlighted DSCT director Sam Montsi. “Over the years, our shipyard has undertaken many projects for local and international clients, but none as significant as Project Biro. This project is being built and delivered within the agreed specifications, timelines and budgets.”

“With the building of the patrol vessels, we are demonstrating that we are truly an industrial powerhouse and, most importantly, highlighting that the South African defence industry has the requisite capabilities and capacity, and that government spending has a positive socioeconomic spin-off on our society at large,” affirmed Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. She said that the new IPVs would be the workhorses of the fleet, reducing the pressure on the SAN’s frigate squadron.

“The [Damen] group is immensely encouraged by the award of Project Biro to DSCT,” stated group chief commercial officer Arnout Damen. “The group stands by the shipyard and will work with the local teams, including [defence acquisition agency] Armscor and the South African Navy to ensure that Biro is built and delivered successfully on time. It is our intention that, at the end of Project Biro, we should have achieved significant transfer of technologies and skills, as well as facilitated the growth of enterprises as envisioned in these imperatives.

“[T]here are indeed great opportunities to be realised in the blue economy,” he elucidated. “However, exploiting these, in my humble view, will be greatly facilitated by careful planning and constructive engagements between government and its various organs on the one hand, and the private sector on the other. The Damen group has expertise and experiences that can be instructive in this regard. In a few countries where we are involved in shipyards and dockyards, we have successfully facilitated the development and growth of the shipbuilding industry and revitalisation of dockyards, in collaboration with national navies and other parties. We are willing to engage with government and other relevant bodies to explore how we can assist in this initiative.”

Damen describes the IPVs as “multimission” vessels. Mapisa-Nqakula explained their roles as antipiracy and countering smuggling, trafficking and illegal fishing. “While the prevalence of piracy has somewhat declined, the extent of maritime crime observed . . . has been on the increase, indicating that the maritime domain lacks law enforcement,” she pointed out. “The new vessels would be well suited to this task . . . This improved capacity will be of immediate and immense national benefit. Of particular interest will be the possible impact on maritime security in the Southern African Development Community, the rest of Africa and beyond.”

The programme employs 250 DSCT workers and supports more than 1 000 jobs in local industry. The local content requirement is 60% but Damen is seeking to exceed that. “The constraints, however, remain the international maritime classification requirements,” cautioned Montsi. “A further challenge is the nonmanufacture locally of some specified high-end items, such as marine engines, propulsion systems and generators. We will endeavour to source these items through local agents to spread the benefits of the project.”