More counter-piracy duty

Operation Copper duties continue for SA Navy. 

More counter-piracy duty for Navy OPVs

SAS Makhanda (P1569) will complete her tour of counter-piracy duty in the Mozambique channel on December 12 and one of her sister craft, SAS Isaac Dyobha (P1565), will take up station for the next six weeks.

The offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) are increasingly being used as platforms to carry Maritime Reaction Squadron (MRS) teams who are responsible for the boarding and searching suspect vessels.

Operation Copper is a tri-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) initiative to reduce piracy off the east coast of southern Africa. President Jacob Zuma extended South Africa’s commitment to the operation until the next of February next year. South Africa, along with Mozambique and Tanzania, committed to the counter-piracy operation in 2011.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za