MARITIME REVIEW AFRICA
NEWS ROUND-UP FEBRUARY 2019
SECURITY
Acting against illegal activities at sea Mozambique, the United States of America and a number of other partner countries are currently undertaking a 11-day naval exercise aimed at providing training in combating illicit trafficking, piracy and the interception of vessels engaged in illegal fishing.
PEOPLE & EVENTS
Project Biro will deliver three inshore patrol vessels by 2023 SOUTH AFRICA: Around 300 guests were invited to celebrate the official launch of Project Biro at a keel laying ceremony hosted by Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) at the end of February.
Montsi added that it was encouraging to see how Operation Phakisa had impacted on the local shipbuilding sector by stipulating that all vessels required by the State should be built locally.
Speaking at the function, Chairman of DSCT, Sam Montsi, said that the three vessels would be built within specification and to budget. “The ARMSCOR evaluation process was robust and we are proud to have won the tender,” he said commenting that he hoped that the original scope of the project, that included a further three offshore patrol vessels, could be revisited.
Vice Admiral Mosiwa Hlongwane, noted the importance of the multi-mission vessels for the navy. “These vessels will be the workhorses of the Navy and reduce the workload of the Navy’s existing fleet,” he said adding that they would provide a cost-effective platform to undertake efficient missions within South Africa’s maritime domain aimed at addressing issues of illegal fishing and trafficking.
The first vessel is due to be completed and be in service by June 2021. The second and third vessels will follow in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Also on hand to mark the occasion, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, said; “This new multi-mission inshore patrol vessels will cater for the roles and obsolescence of Navy vessels such as the Strike Craft, Mine Countermeasures Vessels and the Torpedo Recovery Vessel that have been in service for more than 40 years.”
Dubbed “Cutlass Express 2019”, the operation is taking place within the framework of the existing multilateral partnership between the Republic of Mozambique, the United States of America and other partner countries. The naval exercise also includes the holding of a Symposium of Senior Leaders in the city of Maputo from 4 to 7 February 2019. The exercise was designed to strengthen multilateral cooperation between naval forces operating in the Indian Ocean and will focus on skills related to the identification, approach and pursuit of suspect vessels at sea. Together with eleven other East African and Indian Ocean nations, Mozambique signed the Jeddah Amendment to the 2017 Djibouti Code of Conduct, which offers it the possibility to build national and regional capacities to respond to the wider problems of maritime security, the sustainable development of the maritime sector. The “Cutlass Express” exercise moves each year, with 2019 representing the ninth year of a naval exercise to strengthen cooperation and interoperability between the military forces of the partner nations.
FISHING
EU/Morocco Fisheries deal gets the nod MOROCCO: On 12 February the European Parliament gave its consent to the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the EU and Morocco. This agreement, valid for four years, allocates fishing opportunities for the EU in exchange for an overall financial contribution of € 208 million euros. A substantial part of this contribution will be used to promote the sustainable development of the fisheries economy in Morocco and the Western Sahara.
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