Indian destroyer to call at Durban

Sep 28, 2006
Author: P&S

The Indian destroyer INS Mumbai, which recently paid an official visit to Cape Town at the time of the AAD air show last week, is due to arrive in Durban tomorrow (Friday 29 September) at 09.00.


Ian Shiffman’s photograph of INS Mumbai in Cape Town recently. Click image to enlarge

The ship is calling at Durban on an informal visit for replenishments ahead of the journey back to India. It is believed Mumbai was originally intended to call at Maputo but has diverted to Durban instead. According to a SA Navy spokesperson in Pretoria the ship will not be open to visitors during her visit and will not be berthing at the Salisbury Island Naval Station. She sails on Tuesday 3 October.

Also arriving in Durban this Saturday (30 September) are two South African Navy strike craft, SAS Galeshewe and SAS Isaac Dyobha, which are en route to Maputo to take part in a joint naval exercise with FNS La Rieuse of the French Indian Ocean fleet and personnel of the Mozambique and Tanzanian armed forces.

The two strike craft were to be accompanied by the combat support ship SAS Drakensberg but this has subsequently changed and the hydrographic survey ship SAS Protea will now meet up with the two patrol boats off the KZN coast and proceed to Mozambique.

It is believed the joint exercise in the Mozambique Channel is called Operation Bourbon although there has been no official confirmation of this from the SAN.