10/01/2005: Speaking at
a ceremony in Cape Town on Monday to mark
the official handover of South Africa’s first-ever
offshore Environmental Protection Vessel,
the Sarah Baartman, the Minister of Environmental
Affairs & Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk
said: “At no point ever has South Africa been
better-equipped to protect our marine resources,
monitor our marine environment, or react more
rapidly to accidents and incidents in our
waters.”
“We are building an environmental compliance
and enforcement fleet that is the envy of
other countries,” said the Minister. “Today
we take delivery of the Sarah Baartman - the
largest, strongest, and best-equipped of our
four new environmental protection vessels.
She is our environmental flagship and her
delivery provides our country with a capacity
to patrol and protect our offshore marine
resources matching that of countries like
France and Australia.”
Speaking about the Cabinet decision to name
the vessel after a tragic 18th Century figure
whose story has more recently become a symbol
of hope, the Minister said: “It was the greed
and ignorance of unscrupulous men that led
to Sarah’s exploitation. The return of her
mortal remains in 2002 helped to restore the
dignity of our nation. The Sarah Baartman
will make a similar contribution – helping
us to track down and punish those whose greed
is stripping our country of its valuable marine
resources, and helping us to assert our authority
in our territorial waters. The story of Sarah’s
return has become a symbol of Africa’s renaissance.
The Sarah Baartman will be a tribute to her
memory and the contribution of South African
women to the building of our country. This
vessel will be an asset not only for South
Africa, but for the entire SADC region.”
Built under contract by Damen Shipyards,
work on the $19 million vessel began in Romania
in July 2003 and was continued in Vlissingen
in the Netherlands, where final outfitting
took place. 83 meters in length, the Sarah
Baartman will carry 18 crew, 4 cadets and
7 fishery inspectors. With a range of 10000
nautical miles at 15 knots she can remain
at sea for up to 45 days at a time. Her top
speed is in excess of 20 knots.
“South Africa lost between R400 and R600
million in Toothfish catches from 1996 to
2000 alone,” said the Minister. “In spite
of the fact that they are never eaten in SA,
they are being illegally fished to the brink
of extinction in our waters – the Sarah Baartman
will give us the capacity to put an end to
this poaching. This vessel will however not
only catch poachers, she will also serve to
deter them. We have seen this with our new
inshore vessel the Lilian Ngoyi. In her first
month of operations the Lilian Ngoyi seized
3 vessels and also issued a number of spot
fines. The reported incidents of abalone poachers
using rubber-ducks in the Overberg area decreased
from an average of 16 per week to approximately
1 per week over this period.”
Equipped with a helicopter deck and refuelling
facilities the much larger Sarah Baartman
will be able to accommodate a fully laden
Super Puma/Oryx – the helicopter facilities
will extend her range of sight by at least
20 times. The vessel also has hospital facilities
and capacity for six 20-foot containers which
can be loaded and discharged by the vessel’s
own crane, which will make her extremely useful
in assisting with high speed disaster relief,
search and rescue, evacuations, fire fighting,
pollution control (like oil spills), towing,
and other emergency operations.
Using the opportunity to speak about the
work of South Africa’s fishing inspectors
the Minister added: “I would like to thank
our Inspectorate for having worked so hard
over the festive season – doing a great job
in dangerous and difficult conditions, especially
at a time when most South Africans are at
home with friends and family. The Sarah Baartman
and her sister vessels will add real teeth
to our enforcement and compliance efforts.
Like their namesakes they too will be a symbol
of the strength and determination of our people.”
