SA Navy 'in a bad state' & 'in a crisis' - defence expert

CAPE TOWN - The South African Navy has been struggling to meet its targets due to financial constraints.

Aviation and defence journalist, Dean Wingrin, said that insufficient funds had led to the underachievement of naval operations.
 
"The navy is certainly in a bad state and is in crisis. But I'd just like to add that the headline of one vessel in the whole navy operational is a little bit overstated."
 
South Africa's navy is responsible for protecting nearly 1.2 million square kilometres of coastline.
 
However, Wingrin said it was not able to meet its mandatory goal of 8,000 hours at sea for the 2023/24 financial year due to slow vessel maintenance and repairs.
 
"South Africa, according to various international treaties, is responsible for safety, search and rescue in this huge maritime area that goes all the way down to Antarctica."