The River class is a
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
of four
minehunter
A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as ...
s built for the South African Navy. They have a secondary role as inshore
patrol vessel
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...
s.
Development
In order to circumvent
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
military sanctions during the apartheid-era, the minehunters were originally ordered and operated by the
Department of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
and designated as
research vessel
A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...
s.
The initial names of the vessels were ''Navors'' (Afrikaans for 'research'), and numbered 1 to 4.
Ordered in 1978, the first vessel, ''Navors I'', was shipped to
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
from Germany in June 1980 for fitting out, shortly followed by the ''Navors II''.
The second pair were constructed in Durban. The vessels were painted blue with white upper works and formed the First Research Squadron.
In 1982, the four vessels were renamed after South African rivers but continued to fly the national flag rather than the naval ensign.
Only in February 1988 was the prefix RV changed to SAS when they were formally accepted as naval ships.
Current status
As of 2022, two River-class vessels are still in service with the South African Navy, however, they are believed to have lost their mine-hunting capabilities due to the retirement of the antiquated PAP104
autonomous underwater vehicle
An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is a robot that travels underwater without requiring continuous input from an operator. AUVs constitute part of a larger group of undersea systems known as unmanned underwater vehicles, a classification tha ...
s (AUVs).
Whilst still maintaining a decompression chamber for operational diving, the River class are now deployed on general coastal defence duties, and are equipped with a single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, two 12.7 mm machine guns, and a RHIB for boarding operations.
See also
*
List of decommissioned ships of the South African Navy
*
List of ships of the South African Navy
This is a list of active South African Navy ships. As of 2023, there are approximately 49 ships in commission including: 4 frigates, 3 submarines, 2 Minesweeper (ship), minesweepers, 1 Replenishment oiler, replenishment vessel, 1 survey vessel, ...
Citations
References
*
{{South African Navy
Mine warfare vessels of the South African Navy