Fincantieri signs ten-year maintenance contract for Egyptian FREMM frigates
Italy’s Fincantieri has signed a €260 million contract with Egypt for the maintenance of two FREMM frigates over a ten year period.
The company made...
Somali pirates strike again as Iranian fishing vessel highjacked
After a lull of several years, Somali pirates are back in the news with reports of them having successfully attacked and seized an Iranian...
Nigerian Navy holds Exercise Nchekwa Oshimili 2023 in Gulf of Guinea
The Nigerian Navy put on its best face for the Chief of Naval Staff Sea Inspection ‘Nchekwa Oshimili’ 2023 exercise, which commenced late last...
US Navy liberates Israeli tanker seized by Houthi forces
Action taken by US Navy forces operating off the coast of Yemen have liberated an Israeli chemical products tanker, the 19 998-dwt Central Park...
New Atalanta Commander in office ahead of 15th anniversary
Operation Atalanta, the European Union (EU) maritime tasking in the Indian Ocean off the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, today (Thursday, 23...
Spanish Air Force contribution to Op Atalanta honoured
The contribution made by the Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire ) to the European Union (EU) Operation Atalanta earned its aircraft flotilla the...
SA Navy Submarine Officer Commanding Course begins
The latest Submarine Officer Commanding Course of the South African Navy began last month, giving submariners the skills and knowledge to fill new roles...
Second Piriou offshore patrol vessel delivered to Senegal
French shipyard Piriou has delivered the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Niani to Senegal’s military, the second of three for the West African nation.
The shipyard...
SAS Manthatisi Board of Inquiry extended
The four-man board of inquiry (BOI) investigating the submarine incident that left three sailors dead in September has been granted an extension of time...
SA Navy looking to replace SAS Drakensberg
The South African Navy will soon start a project to replace its combat support vessel SAS Drakensberg, which is nearly 40 years old and...
French frigate Floreal visits Cape Town
On 1 November, unlike all previous visits by NATO warships, an unannounced arrival off Cape Town was the French Navy (Marine Nationale) Frigate FS...
Nigerian Navy to harness artificial intelligence to strengthen operations
The Nigerian Navy aims to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to strengthen its operational capacity and keep pace with evolving technological advancements in the maritime...
SA Navy MMIPV project has supported over 1 000 jobs
The construction of three new multi-mission inshore patrol vessels (MMIPVs) for the South African Navy has created over 1 000 direct jobs at shipbuilder...
Coastal waters turning into ‘world’s biggest transnational crime scene’
Africa’s coastal nations are fighting a rising tide of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, piracy, and drug smuggling.
A recent report by the Institute...
Lobese grateful for efficient new inshore patrol vessels, but says more are needed
Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, has expressed gratitude that the Navy is receiving new inshore patrol vessels, which are...
SA Navy receives second patrol vessel SAS King Shaka Zulu
The Chief of the South African Navy and King of the Zulu nation were among the dignitaries present in Durban on Friday for the...
Dearsan launches first offshore patrol vessel for Nigeria
Dearsan Shipyard has launched the first of two 76-metre-long offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Nigerian Navy during a ceremony in Turkey.
The launching ceremony,...
Second SA Navy MMIPV to be named on Friday
The second SA Navy (SAN) multi-mission inshore patrol vessel (MMIPV) built in South Africa will, the shipbuilders have it, be named in a ceremony...
SA and Netherlands to co-operate on naval history
Last week’s high level discussions, including a letter of intent at national defence level, in Pretoria between The Netherlands and South Africa saw a...
Indian Navy patrol ship INS Sumedha visits Nigeria
The Indian Navy offshore patrol ship, INS Sumedha is the latest Indian naval ship to pay an official visit to Nigeria.
The visit starting on...
Kenyan President launches 1 800 ton locally built freighter
Kenyan President William Ruto, also Commander-in-Chief of the country’s defence force, has officiated the commissioning and maiden launch of MV Uhuru II, a 1...
ECOWAS plans to up maritime security
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) Chiefs of Naval Staff met in Togo this week to strengthen maritime operations and combat illicit maritime...
Second SA Navy inshore patrol vessel on track for month-end handover
The South African Navy (SAN) will at the end of this month commission into service its second multi-mission inshore patrol vessel (MMIPV) as part...
SA’s Pandor calls for ocean protection at IORA
South African International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor wants world leaders to “urgently take action” to protect oceans and for people dependent on...
Piracy on the rise in the Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea on Africa’s upper west coast is again highlighted as a world piracy hotspot in the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB)...
“Procurement challenges” and “lack of capacity” keep SA Navy in harbour
That the SA Navy (SAN) needs to rebuild is borne out by the hours at sea recorded by the maritime service of the SA...
French Navy warship Mistral in Nigeria for maritime exercises
The French Navy’s amphibious assault ship Mistral is in Nigeria for the combined exercises Crocodile Lift and Grand African Nemo, which started on Monday.
The...
EU Naval Force completes Ex Aldabra II in Seychelles
Operation Atalanta, the European Union (EU)-led naval deployment in September completed Aldabra II, an advanced training exercise promoting co-operation between the EU force and...
Gulf of Guinea countries join forces to secure maritime domain
Shipowners operating in the Gulf of Guinea received a piracy alert in late June after a Swiss bulk carrier vessel was boarded and some...
Africa’s ocean of organised crime
The ocean is central to global illicit trade. Criminal networks plunder marine resources, scour shipping lanes for vessels to hijack, and traverse coastal state...
SA, Indian navy personnel train together
Joint training with the Indian Navy saw the South Africa Navy (SAN) frigate SAS Mendi (F148) utilised for at least eight different evolutions in...
Here’s why Somali piracy, once an unsolvable security threat, has almost completely stopped
In 2011, pirates carried out 212 attacks in a vast area spanning Somali waters, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and the Gulf of...
The Gambia redoubles efforts to scupper maritime drug trafficking
The Gambia is a key transit point for South American cocaine being smuggled to Europe. In February, over 800 kg of cocaine that had...
New Irini force commander
The European Union (EU) naval deployment in the Mediterranean Sea – Operation Irini – has a new man at the helm of its multinational...
French frigate seizes 2.4 tonnes of cocaine off West African coast
The French Navy frigate Ventose has seized 2.4 tons of cocaine on a fishing boat off the coast of West Africa.
The operation took place...
Board of inquiry for SAN submarine disaster coming
The South African Navy will next month institute a board of inquiry (BOI) into the SAS Manthatisi accident that claimed the lives of three...
SA Navy chief mourns those lost in submarine tragedy, including pioneering female officer
The Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, is heartbroken and devastated by the deaths of three submariners who passed away...
Three SA Navy submariners dead after fatal incident at sea
Three South African Navy (SAN) submariners died after they were washed off the deck of the submarine SAS Manthatisi (S101) off Kommetjie in the...
Damen patrol vessels in Cape Town
It cannot have escaped the notice of the casual maritime observer that Cape Town is the home of one of the World’s largest, and...
Naval College Open Day
The SA Navy (SAN) is certainly putting its best foot forward this month (September) for South Africans to see what it is and does.
First...
US-supplied vessels bolster Ghana’s maritime security
In a significant development for maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently commissioned four vessels into Ghana...
Royal Navy Warship HMS Trent strengthens maritime security partnership with Nigeria
The Royal Navy’s offshore patrol vessel HMS Trent is once again visiting, Nigeria, reiterating its dedication to enhancing maritime security in West Africa. The...
Brazilian Navy exercises with West African nations
The Brazilian Navy Niteroi-class frigate Liberal is off the coast of West Africa, where it is holding exercises with regional navies, including Togo and...
Second Senegalese OPV 58S undergoing sea trials
French shipyard Piriou is carrying out sea trials of the Niani, the second of three OPV 58S patrol vessels destined for Senegal, indicating delivery...
PLAN CoS meets CSAN
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Chief of Staff, Vice Admiral Hu Zhongming, has paid a courtesy call to SA Navy (SAN) Chief at...
Navy back on show with a mini festival
“The Peoples’ Navy” will strut its stuff for South Africans again, albeit on a smaller scale than the Navy Festival staged at Naval Base...
SA Navy in attendance at IMDEC 2023 in Ghana
South African Navy Chief, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, is one of the dignitaries attending the third International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC 2023)...
Indian Navy patrol vessel visits South Africa
The Indian Navy’s warship INS Sunayna has paid a port visit to Durban, months after another Indian Navy visit to KwaZulu-Natal.
INS Sunayna was in...
South Africa and Germany aiming to hold long-delayed naval exercise in 2024
South Africa and Germany will next year hold the eighth iteration of the Good Hope naval exercise, after a six-year hiatus compounded by the...
Immortelle – one of the SAN predecessor’s first three ships
The imminent departure of the name SAS Immortelle from the SA Navy (SAN) roster of shore facilities signals the end of an important part...