Navy Chief Vice-Admiral Monde Lobese.
The head of the SA Navy has warned that repeated budget cuts have left the force buckling under the strain of safeguarding the nation’s maritime borders, especially with South Africa’s waters seeing a 100% surge in ship traffic as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and piracy attacks off Somalia and Yemen escalate.
Speaking on the sidelines of a recent medal parade held before the tabling of the national defence budget, Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, warned that geopolitical tensions and increased shipping activity along South Africa’s coastline had placed the Navy at a critical crossroads.
The work of the SAS Amatola (F145) has been praised
Lobese revealed that maritime traffic in South African waters has more than doubled following instability in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical shipping chokepoints.
