Cape Town - The South African Navy has come out firm in its defence of its training of officers, laying the blame for this week’s tragedy during an exercise in Kommetjie, Cape Town, squarely at the door of Mother Nature.
The Executive Officer (XO), Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, who was the first woman to navigate a submarine; the Coxswain, Master Warrant Officer William Masela Mathipa; and the Coxswain under training, Warrant Officer Class 1 Mmokwapa Lucas Mojela all tragically lost their lives when freak waves lashed the vessel on Wednesday.
SA Navy chief Monde Lobese has defended his team and the institution, saying while an inquiry is still under way, the SA Navy submarine branch is a highly professional and well-trained organisation.
“Tragedies of this nature happen all over the world with the navies. The Australian and Indian navy chiefs, as well as the US chief of naval operations were comforting me and shared their own similar experiences while they were at sea.
“The magnitude of this loss is something that is difficult to comprehend, as I spent time with the OC, XO and coxswain just last Wednesday.”
The submarine SAS Manthatisi was en route to Cape Town while conducting a vertical transfer with a SA Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter when high waves swept seven crew members out to sea.
Warrant Officer in Charge of Submarine Escape Training Simulator, Brendan Daly, who was also the safety swimmer from the helicopter, jumped into the water as a surface swimmer to assist the Head of Section Electrical Department, Warrant Officer Ayanda Mahlobo, and the Head of Department Detection, Warrant Officer Charles Kriel.
The injured members are Officer Commanding, Commander Charles Nkolo Phokane, and the Weapons Officer, Lieutenant Melinyani Gobinca.
Last night, relatives and friends who attended a memorial service for Lieutenant Hector held at the TS Laherne Sea Cadets, in Summerstand in Gqebera, said they are anxiously waiting for details around the cause of her death.
Hector’s aunt, Carol de Monk, said the young woman was a determined individual who was always charitable and never gave up on her dreams.
She was a married mother of one child and had 13 years of experience in the navy.
“We are waiting for confirmation on what happened and we are still coming to terms with her death,” said De Monk.
“Gillian always wanted to be in the navy and started when she was in Grade 7 when she joined a training programme here in PE. Every year since she became part of the navy, she was sponsoring one of the pupils at her old primary school, Abraham Levy Primary school in Gqebera.”
De Monk said the family could not comment on when she would be laid to rest and that the community in Gqbebera had called for a statue of remembrance to be erected in her memory.
“This is how much she was valued and how proud she made people known and unknown to her,” she said.
Chief Lobese said his team was well-prepared for the Mini Navy Festival, which was scheduled to take place at the V&A Waterfront this weekend.
The festival has since been cancelled due to the tragedy.
“They were so proud to inform me about their readiness to proceed to the Waterfront for the Mini Navy Festival and that they will conduct several evolutions en route. We laughed and shook hands, and I wished them a safe journey, never thinking that this tragedy would occur.”
Commander Ruwayda Grootman said Mojela was a coxswain in training, and had joined the navy in 1999. He became part of the submarine branch in 2006 and qualified as submariner in 2007. He is survived by his wife and two children.
She said Mathipa joined the navy in 1997 and became part of the submarine branch in 1998, when he also qualified as submariner.
He is survived by his wife and two girls.
Hector joined the navy in 2010 and joined the submarine branch in 2015, completing her general submarine knowledge course in the same year and qualifying as submariner in 2018. She has a BMil degree in Technology from the Military Academy.