The Department of Defense (DoD) sells four old unusable Special Forces workboats that were used in Langebaan.

According to tender documents released in August, all four boats are in various stages of degradation and bidders are advised to attend the mandatory vessel survey before submitting bids. The removal of the vessels is at the expense of the purchaser.

The ships (Hagar, Vredenburger, Viking and Helgar) vary in size from 35 to 54 feet and weigh between 8 and 17 tons. Hagar and Viking are moored alongside and could possibly be towed, but Helgar and Vredenburger are in worse shape.

The work boats were built at the Sachal shipyard in Vredenburg, which specializes in deep-sea fishing boats. According to Boating South Africa, Sachal manager Nic Stevens said the boats could potentially be put back to work: ships or diamond mining vessels, ”he said.

He said the deterioration of the ships was sad to see. “The Viking was operational about two years ago and looked much better.”

The ships were attached to the 4th Reconnaissance Commando (4RR) specializing in amphibious operations.

The tender documents are available here. Closing of the offers on October 7. https://boatingsouthafrica.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/August-2021-South-Africa-Boat-Sales.pdf

Boating South Africa also noted that there were a few drug trafficking ships that were auctioned off. The 37-meter fishing vessel MV Windward and the 28-ton pleasure boat Lukzet were part of a fleet of vessels used in an international drug trafficking ring that went bankrupt in March after the discovery of valuable cocaine of Rand 580 million in 973 blocks inside three compartments inside the MV Windward. The Lukzet was a support vessel based in Saldanha. Both ships were then auctioned off in mid-September.