River-class mine hunter

For other naval ship classes of the same name, see River class (disambiguation).

The River class is a class of four minehunters built for the South African Navy. They have a secondary role as inshore patrol vessels.

SAS Umzimkulu
Class overview
Name	River class
Builders	Abeking & Rasmussen and Sandock-Austral
Operators	South African Navy
Preceded by	Ton-class minesweeper
Built	4
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics [1]
Type	Minehunter
Displacement	390 t (380 long tons)
Length	48.0 m (157.5 ft)
Beam	8.5 m (27.9 ft)
Draught	2.5 m (8.2 ft)
Propulsion	2 × MTU 12V TB81 diesels, 2 shaft 3,367 kW (4,515 hp)
Speed	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range	2,000 nmi (3,700 km; 2,300 mi) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	40
Armament	1 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns

Development

In order to circumvent United Nations military sanctions during the apartheid-era, the minehunters were originally ordered and operated by the Department of Transport and designated as research vessels.^[2] 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 from Germany in June 1980 for fitting out, shortly followed by the Navors II.^[3] 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.^[2]

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 vehicles (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.

Name	Previous Names	Pennant	Commissioned[1]	Notes
SAS Umkomaas	RV Navors I	M1499	13 January 1981	Named after the Umkomaas River
SAS Umgeni	RV Navors II	M1213	1 March 1981	Named after Umgeni River
SAS Umzimkulu	RV Navors III	M1142	30 October 1981	Named after Umzimkulu River
SAS Umhloti	RV Navors IV	M1212	15 December 1981	Named after Umhloti River close to Durban, South Africa

See also

• List of decommissioned ships of the South African Navy
• List of ships of the South African Navy