Repair bill: R46-million including dry-dock time to replace damaged engine…
It’s the SA Navy’s comedy of costly technical errors: The R16-million diesel engine on the new R2-billion-costing submarine SAS Manthatisi was destroyed by ‘water sucked in through the underwater exhaust pipe ‘s non-return valve’, bending the crankshaft-rods and destroying the engine. The sub was also crashed into the Simon’s town harbour’s quay-side ‘during rough weather’ because its harbour-entrance was ‘too narrow’ .. its electrical fuses and breakers blew up when they tried to charge the batteries with shore-power; and some of the 480 submarine-batteries also blew out because of ‘a build-up of hydrogen gas’ i.e. overcharging… repairs will take until 2013 at least. And even if it’s fixed, the SA Navy hasn’t got the crew members for it: while each sub only needs 30 crew members and although they have advertised the posts for the past four years, they also demand politically-correct crew members... Interested in a job on a SA navy sub? telephone 021 787 5006
ABOVE: The SA Navy submarine SAS MANTHATISI became the first naval submarine worldwide to be brought into class by the “International Classification Society “(the Germanischer Lloyd insurance company) after a detailed inspection in June 2007. It was certified to be in perfect running order when it was delivered to Simon’s Town harbour in South Africa Normally only merchant marine vessels undergo such thorough inspections… http://www.navy.mil.za/archive/0708/070830_MANTHATISI/article.htm
-------------------------------------------
CAPE TOWN PARLIAMENT, November 17 2010 – SA rear-admiral Bernie Teuteberg had to embarrassingly explain to MPs how his black-economic-empowered personnel managed to destroy the engine of a perfectly good 16cylinder MTU Diesel engine on its sturdy, German-built R2billion costing submarine SAS Manthatisi - through pure and utter incompetence. Sixteen other countries also run these subs - built by the highly competent workers of the German Howaldtswerke at Kiel in North Germany . And nothing like it had ever happened before to any of their subs -- except in South Africa.
background: "SA submarine fleet collapsing due to affirmative action"
On July 29 2008, the then-Defence Force Minister admitted in parliament that there was considerable pressure to hire black personnel for these brand-new subs. The navy embarked on a massive advertising campaign to recruit 126 new submariners - including 59 technicians- for its fleet of 3 submarines (crewed by 30 people each).' Similar brain-drain operations were mounted in the SA Air Force: many of its fighter-pilots and military technicians – before getting the black-economic-empowerment chop - had already joining the Australian air force after that country actively started recruited them. Over the previous 3 years, the country thus lost 91 highly-skilled, experienced fighter pilots and 822 jet-fighter technicians - all whites, mostly Afrikaans-speakers. By November 2010, South Africa only has 20 fighter-pilots left. And a similar ‘brain-drain’ – caused by the ANC regime’s anti-white hiring laws – also took place at the SA Naval base in Simon’s Town, home of its entire fleet. http://censorbugbear-reports.blogspot.com/2008/07/sa-air-force-submarine-fleet-collapsing.html
Some four years after the SAS Manthatisi’s widely-hailed arrival in April 2006 amidst massive political fanfare at Simon's Town naval base, Rear-Admiral Teuteberg had to explain to parliament why the beautiful German sub got so badly damaged: "Water was sucked in through the underwater exhaust pipe Non Return Valve in bad weather," he explained…. This stupid act had bent the crankshaft’s rods and destroyed the R16-m engine beyond repair… http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=126954
While Teuteberg did not actually say so, this was a very stupid technical error: water cannot be compressed by the cylinders - so the connecting rods were bent and the engine’s crankshaft was damaged beyond repair. The sub’s engine must be replaced in dry dock: a hole will have to be cut in the side of the beautiful German-built sub’s hull to remove the engine and a new one rigged in.
Teuteberg said a new engine will cost R16million - the drydock costs probably another estimated R30million. And even were it not laid up for repairs, the SAS Manthatisi could not put to sea anyway -- because it did not have a trained crew: despite the fact that the navy had been advertising very actively for ‘politically-correct’ crew members ever since 2006.
Each sub has 30 crew-members – but they could only find suitable candidates for 2 subs:
Yet, said Teuteberg, there were a number of other reasons besides its broken engine. "One of the reasons was the lack of submarine-trained personnel and the fact that I really only had two full crews for two submarines. Therefore... to ensure that I kept two submarines operational in order to train new crews -- because, as you will know, I need to go to sea in order to give people training -- we made a conscious decision... to rather not bring Manthatisi back earlier, but leave her where she is and concentrate on the two subs in the water, in order to create a bigger manpower pool sooner." http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article766035.ece/Navy-short-of-submariners-MPs-told
Moreover, this was not a stand-alone incident: the naval personnel also crashed its second R2billion, 209-class submarine into the quay-side, supposedly during 'rough weater'; and they also destroyed the electrical fuses and - breakers in the sub’s electrical network “when they tried to charge the batteries from shore-power.”
Moreover, another 480 submarine batteries were destroyed because of the 'build-up of hydrogen gas'... i.e. they were overcharged and 'hydrogen valves' had to be installed to stop “the problem”. No-one has been discliplined. It was nobody’s fault...
Wyndham Hartley of Business Day reported that 'the South African Navy, in the clearest explanation yet, has told Parliament that human error and an alleged 'battery construction fault' in the German-built submarine were blamed for 'the lengthy spell in dry dock of its R2bn submarine SAS Manthatisi.
Experts and opposition MPs suggest however that 'there is something more seriously wrong" with the (mechanical care ) “given to the first submarine delivered to SA in terms of the strategic defence package."
R-Adm Bernhard Teuteberg told the defence committee yesterday that there were"three issues involving the Manthatisi:
When the sub is in harbour it is plugged into a shore service to keep its 250 tons of batteries charged. "This machine was incorrectly wired, resulting in blown fuses and switches on board the vessel,"he said.
In rough weather the vessel banged into the quay, causing minor damage to the aft plane, which helps steer and trim the submarine underwater. However, the integrity of the hull was not compromised, he said.
The admiral explained that 'when being charged, batteries produced hydrogen and the build-up of the gas damaged some of the submarine’s batteries, of which there are 480."
Increased piracy – SA Navy has responsibility for making Cape of Good Hope route safe…
Teuteberg also warned that the Navy's budget should not be cut: "With increased piracy on both the east and west coasts of Africa, more and more shipping was using the route around SA and it was the navy’s responsibility to make this route safe," he reportedly said. "It would be difficult to send a frigate to Somali waters to help with anti-piracy operations because it would have to be rotated every three months."
The frigates, bought for R3billion, cost an annual R133million to operate; one of its 3 submarines would cost R30million a year to operate; and a patrol vessel would cost R32-million a year. Meanwhile, said Teuteberg, ‘the Manthatisi was languishing in the submarine shed at the naval base..” http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=126954
Interested in training for sub-mariner on a SA sub?
The SA Navy’s submarine fleet needs FOUR staffers at Fleet Command Headquarters in Pretoria;
it’s also advertising for:
Fleet Maintenance Unit – 25 technical posts
System Manager Submarine Support – 5 technical posts
Submarine Training School (SMTS) – 22 technical posts http://www.navy.mil.za/subservice/jobs.htm
