Maritime security is a critical issue confronting many African countries and it is therefore important that African nations develop their own indigenous maritime capabilities. Twiga Services & Logistics, which manufactures a range of rugged military patrol boats, will discuss the importance of African solutions to African problems at the upcoming Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) 2024 Conference this week.
Twiga CEO Damian de Lange will on day three of the conference, on 20 September at Air Force Base Waterkloof, take part in a panel discussion on the need for regional maritime security and why regional cooperation initiatives are increasingly important.
He will be joined by James Cottrell, Head of Naval Systems, Milkor UAE; Carina Bruwer, Senior Researcher, Transnational Organised Crime, Southern Africa, Institute for Security Studies (ISS); and Timothy Walker, Maritime Project Leader and Senior Researcher, Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
Highlighting the importance of maritime security, de Lange said that whether Africa as a region (from the United Nations perspective) or the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as a region (African Union Regional Economic Communities perspective), security in the maritime domain – including the rivers and lakes of Africa – is a critical issue confronting many African countries.
“The illegal movement of goods, that undermines economic development, human trafficking, which destroys lives and humanity, and the direct confrontations on sovereignty are some real examples of the security challenges many African countries face on their coasts, rivers and lakes. The issue of maritime security is one that is often lost in the wider scope of challenges. However, it is a continuous one that challenges the sovereignty, development and human rights of many African countries. And, meeting these security threats takes time and money. Since 2012 Twiga has together with African clients provided water-platform solutions that can add to the capabilities to confront these security threats,” he said.
Twiga offers a range of rugged military patrol boats that have been supplied to African customers. De Lange noted that due to the escalation of conflict on the African continent where borders are often rivers or lakes, there has been an increased demand for greater power and bigger fire power to use the water as a battlefield rather than as a logistic route. The company has responded to this with bigger and more powerful boats, such as its recent 920 Gun Boat, on display at AAD.
De Lange believes that it is critical that African nations develop their own African indigenous maritime capabilities to repair and to build. “The down side is what we have seen across colonial and post-colonial history that those items required must be imported at great cost and in some cases increases the reliance on the former colonial power,” he said.
For South Africa in particular, de Lange believes that policy makers need to have their ideas operationalised: “South Africa must invest and build its own capabilities to meet the growing needs to secure our seas, our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and to support multi-national efforts to curb illegal activities on the high seas.”
Day three of the AAD Conference will also feature a keynote address by Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, who will discuss the SA Navy’s plan to get its ships back to sea and introduce new additions to the fleet.
Other topics to be covered include the impact of Houthi attacks on international shipping and Somali piracy’s effects on regional and global maritime security; supporting SA Navy assets with an auxiliary vessel/drone carrier; strengthening maritime security in Mozambique; examining the impact of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) on maritime security in Africa; and using the Oceans and Coastal Information System (OCIMS) to monitor South Africa’s oceans.
For more information about the AAD 2024 Conference and to register for the event, please visit the AAD 2024 Conference Website.
