DSCT Contracted for Repair of DAFF Fleet

The South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has assigned Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT, part of Damen Shipyards Group) to get its fleet of Fisheries Research Vessels and Fisheries Protection & Surveillance Vessels operational as soon as possible. The scope of work includes repair works and ongoing maintenance.

The DAFF Fleet currently consists of six vessels, including the 83m Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘Sarah Baartman’ and the 78m Research Vessel ‘Africana’. A DAFF spokesman said earlier that there is an immediate and urgent focus to get both these vessels operational again.

Like the Sarah Baartman (a Damen OPV 8313, built in 2005), the other three patrol vessels are also of Damen design. The ‘Lilian Ngoyi’, ‘Ruth First’ and ‘Victoria Mxenge’ are of the Damen Stan Patrol 4708 type and were built from 2004 to 2006 in Cape Town.

They are used as Fisheries Protection & Surveillance Vessels to protect South Africa’s EEZ from illegal fishing.

The two Fisheries Research Vessels, the 43m ´Ellen Khuzwayo´ (built 2007 in Cape Town) and the 30-year old Africana, will soon be ready to resume their tasks. These comprise research programmes on how to maintain and restore the productive capacity and biodiversity of South Africa´s marine environment.

The programmes are part of DAFF´s policy to protect human life and promote the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resource.