NS ''Brendan Simbwaye'' (P11) is a

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

of the Namibian Navy. Constructed and launched in Brazil, it was commissioned into the Namibian Navy in 2009. Its design was based on the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

's s. The vessel is used for patrolling Namibia's

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

Description

Based on the

's design, the ship has a full load displacement of and measures long with a beam of and a draught of . The vessel is powered by two MTU 16V 396 TB94

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s rated at driving two shafts. This gives the vessel a maximum speed of and a range of at . The vessel is armed one Bofors L/70 40 mm

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

and two

Oerlikon 20 mm cannon The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models empl ...

. ''Brendan Simbwaye'' is equipped with Decca 1290A surface search radar. The patrol boat has a complement of 29 including four officers.

Operational history

In 2003, Namibia and Brazil entered into an agreement whereby Brazil would construct a patrol boat for Namibia based on its ''Grajaú'' class. The vessel was built by INACE at

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

and was laid down on 25 February 2005. Named for Brendan Simbwaye, the patrol boat was launched on 1 May 2008 and commissioned on 16 January 2009 at Fortaleza. The ship then set sail to Namibia on 31 March 2009 and arrived in Walvis Bay 22 days later under the stewarship of its then Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Sacheus !Gonteb. During its maiden voyage to Namibia it was accompanied by the Brazilian Navy

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the sloo ...

and made stops at

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overs ...

and Saint Helena. The ship is operationally utilised for general

management. The boat participated in the

Southern African Development Community The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Goals The SADC's goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and se ...

maritime exercise code named Golfinho in 2009.

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brendan Simbwaye (P11) Grajaú-class patrol boats Ships built in Brazil Ships of the Namibian Navy 2008 ships