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 vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and the ...

of the

Namibian Navy The Namibian Navy is the maritime warfare branch of the Namibian Defence Force. History Development of Namibia's navy has been slow, and the force was only formally established on 11 September 1998 as a maritime wing and in 2004 as a fully ...

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

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious war ...

's s. The vessel is used for patrolling Namibia's exclusive economic zone.

Description

Based on the

's design, the ship has a

full load displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

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 Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s rated at driving two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection, ...

. 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 ...

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 em ...

. ''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 and was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

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 Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...

22 days later. During its maiden voyage to Namibia it was accompanied by the Brazilian Navy corvette and made stops at Ascension Island and Saint Helena. The ship is operationally utilised for general exclusive economic zone 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. Its goal is to further regional socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security coopera ...

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