The SAAF Forum

Another major milestone for Africa’s only submarine museum

By Dean Wingrin

Nearly eight years since it closed to visitors, South Africa’s renowned submarine museum is being brought ashore thanks to two specially constructed cradles from shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT). These were handed over to the South African Navy.

The decision to preserve the SAS Assegaai as an annex of the SA Naval Museum was made in 2005, with the understanding that the SA Navy could not legally provide any financial assistance, nor could it allow its personnel to work in the Assegaai museum. Despite this and under the auspices of the Naval Heritage Trust (NHT), a team of volunteers (who are mostly ex-submariners) started the Assegaai museum in 2008.

Being situated in a working naval base posed logistical challenges for the public to access the museum. Despite this, over the next seven years until 2015, more than 56 000 visitors from 110 countries visited the submarine museum.

However, the biggest challenge of having the submarine in the water was the corrosive effect of steel and saltwater. The maintenance costs of keeping the submarine in water outweighed the revenue from visitor entrance fees. When the Assegaai was taken out of the water in 2015, the deterioration of its outer hull was evident. Although the submarine’s interior was well-maintained, it was necessary to find a permanent solution to keep the submarine out of the water yet easily accessible.

Under the NHT, the volunteers developed a viable plan to house the submarine museum in a safe and easily accessible location. A new concrete foundation was laid at the western end of the Cole Point parking area, near the new NSRI Station 10 building and completed in December last year.

During a ceremony at Naval Base Simon’s Town on 14 August 2023, Damen handed over two 7 tonne support cradles that will be used to support the submarine at its new location. The cradles were built using steel salvaged from old Damen ship transport cradles. Work began on the cradles in November 2022.

The cradles, each 3.6 metres long and 9.1 metres wide, were constructed both in the Damen yard in the Port of Table Bay and on location in Simon’s Town. What made the work even more of a challenge was the constant electricity load shedding affecting the naval base.

“This definitely increased the complexity of the job,” pronounced Damen Shipyards Cape Town MD Jankees Burger.
Burger noted that the involvement of civilians in the military, particularly the submarine service, is crucial. He explained that submarines primarily operate unseen, which often keeps them out of the public eye.

“Having a museum submarine helps to achieve this visibility and attracts a lot of people who are interested in seeing the ‘secret service’ for themselves,” he continued.

In response, Chief of the SA Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese, told the Damen employees that “without your generous sponsorship of the steel, as well as your dedicated personnel who sacrificed their free time over weekends and holidays to do the welding, today would not have been possible.”

The process of moving the submarine from the Synchrolift area to its new location will begin in the next few months, with the actual move planned for early 2024.

Lobese emphasized that the Naval Heritage Trust still requires a substantial amount of funding for the project.

“We must all play our part in ensuring that we preserve our unique submarine heritage,” he said. “In order to put my money where my mouth is, I pledge a total of R10 000 from the Chief of the Navy Contingency fund towards this project.”

Once on site, with entrance and exit doors installed in the pressure hull, NHT will manage and operate the submarine on similar principles to those previously in place when the boat was in the water.

The Trust is currently in the process of trying to secure further sponsorship to ensure that the Submarine Museum can be realised in a reasonable time frame. Among the costs that need to be covered are R1.8 million to move the submarine and R3 million for the repair and restoration of the external hull of the vessel.

Retired Rear Admiral (JG) Digby Thomson is one of several retired navy men who is assisting on the Naval Heritage Trust Submarine Museum Project. Thomson said: “We have raised about forty percent of the money we need to move the vessel. Once we have moved her, we will cut two holes forward and aft to allow for tour groups. We will use the funds from the visitors to finalise her look and make her more presentable to the public.”

The Assegai Submarine Museum is the last remaining of three French-built Daphné Class submarines operated by the South African Navy during the 1970s, 80s and part of the 90s and successfully operated as a museum from 2008 to 2015 with the vessel lying alongside the outer wall of the Simon’s Town harbour. After 2015, the vessel required external maintenance and was kept on the synchro lift inside the harbour. The Museum has been closed ever since.

Assegaai remains part of the SA Naval Museum, under the ownership of the South African Navy. It is the only naval submarine to be preserved on the African continent. There are 124 preserved naval submarines in the world – only six are in the southern hemisphere.

Submarine Museum relocation moves forward with major boost from mayoral donation

Dean Wingrin

The Mayor of Cape Town has made a significant contribution of R750 000 to the Naval Heritage Trust (NHT) to support the relocation of the submarine SAS Assegaai to its new home at the Submarine Museum of Technology. This donation aims to further the Trust’s efforts to preserve this historical vessel and transform it into a unique educational and tourist attraction.

SAS Assegaai is the last remaining of three French-built Daphné Class submarines that were operated by the South African Navy from the 1970s into the 1990s. It successfully served as a museum from 2010 to 2015, docked alongside the outer wall of Simon’s Town harbour. When the submarine was taken out of the water in 2015 and placed on the synchro lift inside the harbour, it became apparent that the outer hull had deteriorated. Although the interior remained well-maintained, a permanent solution was needed to keep the submarine out of the water while maintaining accessibility. The museum has been closed since then.

The priority is to move the submarine to a new site provided by the Navy at the western end of the Cole Point parking area. The Trust had accumulated some funds during the period it operated as a museum and used these to prepare the concrete foundations for the plinth. Damen Shipyards Cape Town generously manufactured and fitted a lifting structure and plinths that will also serve as entry and exit platforms.

The quotes to move the submarine were in excess of R1.8 million, contingent on the availability of hydraulic lifting platforms in Cape Town, with Vanguard Heavylift showing particular interest and willingness to assist. Earlier this year, the Trust crossed the R1 million mark in their fundraising efforts.

The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Geordin Hill-Lewis, identified the NHT as a recipient for support from the Mayoral Fund, which allows for limited allocations to qualifying organisations at the Mayor’s discretion.

Hill-Lewis expressed the City’s enthusiasm for supporting the Assegaai’s preservation: “The City is glad to support the Assegaai’s continued sustainability as a unique educational and tourist attraction for schools and visitors from far and wide. This is the only preserved submarine of its kind in Africa, containing all sorts of fascinating technology for young and old to immerse themselves in. We look forward to the relocation of this floating museum to land, along with the expanded opportunities for learning and tourism.”

Rear Admiral (JG) Arne Soderland (Rtd), representing the NHT, noted that the Mayoral donation “enabled us to start the move as it covered the full cost.”

Vanguard Heavylift, known for its expertise in complex lifting operations, is scheduled to carry out a final site inspection in late June, with the move provisionally planned for mid-July. Meanwhile, the Dockyard will complete work on the docking bogeys, allowing the submarine to be moved along the synchro lift to where it can be lifted by four hydraulic platforms.

Once relocated, SAS Assegaai will remain the property of the South African Navy as part of the SA Naval Museum. The NHT has been delegated to move, install and manage the submarine on a hard stand at the western end of the Cole Point parking area, next to the new NSRI Station 10 building.

The public unveiling of SAS Assegaai is planned for early October, although the submarine may not yet be open to inboard visitors at that time.

SA Navy museum submarine SAS Assegaai finally home
Dean Wingrin -22nd July 2024

“It is with the greatest pleasure that we can advise you that Assegaai is finally home and safe in her new museum precinct and visible to the public, albeit in need of some make-up.”

These were the words of Rear Admiral (JG) Arne Soderland (Rtd), representing the Naval Heritage Trust as SA Navy museum submarine SAS Assegaai (S99) was placed in her final resting place in an Annexure of the Naval Museum in Simon’s Town on Saturday 20 July. The submarine had completed a challenging and very wet overland trip of 350 metres, including a 90-degree turn.

South Africa’s first submarines were the Daphné-class submarines, ordered from France in 1968.

SAS Assegaai, formerly known as SAS Johanna van der Merwe, is the last remaining of the three French-built submarines that were operated by the South African Navy from the 1970s into the 1990s.

The dream of preserving a submarine was born in late 2003 when Assegaai was decommissioned, and approved in 2005 with the Navy removing her from the Disposal List which saw her two older sisters sold and cut up for scrap.

Assegaai successfully served as a museum from 2010 to 2015, docked alongside the outer wall of Simon’s Town harbour. When the submarine was taken out of the water in 2015 and placed on the synchro lift inside the harbour, it became apparent that the outer hull had deteriorated. Although the interior remained well-maintained, a permanent solution was needed to keep the submarine out of the water while maintaining accessibility. The museum vessel has been closed since then.

Now, after a long fund-raising journey, the early dream has been realised 21 years later.

The move was originally planned for 6 July 2024, but it was soon realised that the lifting structure required strengthening. Armscor Dockyard workers laboured after hours to fabricate and fit strengthening beams and plates.

The move commenced on the morning of Friday 19 July. As Soderland explained, the three point turn required the moving of containers, lambda walls and even a lamp post which was in the way.

“The rain which came in squalls did not make it any easier either!” he said.

By late Friday afternoon, the submarine was finally heading in the right direction and shortly thereafter cleared the first of the final hurdles, “getting her protruding sonar dome over the foundations, in some cases by a millimetre or two – the thickness of the plastic covering!”

The final few metres were covered on Saturday morning and once she reached her final position, the rest of the morning was spent in lifting tar and breaking concrete to allow her to be lowered onto the foundations without the sonar dome being damaged. By lunchtime SAS Assegaai was lowered and in her final position.

Soderland acknowledged that moving the 58 metre long, 700 ton submarine could not have been achieved “without the wholehearted and enthusiastic commitment of the SA Navy and Armscor Dockyard (Simon’s Town), supported by our sponsors, including Damen Shipyards Cape Town, the Mayor’s Office and Vanguard Heavylift.”

The Assegaai team will now plan the preparation of the ‘shore-side’ facilities as well as the preparation of the submarine for access and safety.

It is hoped to open to the public before the end of the year.

“Once our facilities are completed and volunteers trained and ready to show our visitors why we felt it so important to preserve this unique vessel and its home-grown advanced technology,” said Soderland.

SAS Assegaai will remain the property of the South African Navy as part of the SA Naval Museum. The Naval Heritage Trust has been delegated to move, install and manage the submarine on a hard stand at the western end of the Cole Point parking area, next to the new NSRI Station 10 building.