NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 736/ NW821E
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES:
Ms Z Jongbloed (DA) to ask the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries:
QUESTION
(1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (a) When will the Africana research vessel be replaced and
(b) what is the estimated cost for the replacement of the
specified vessel;
(2)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â whether she will request a financial and/or budgetary
allocation in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework to be set
aside for the purpose of the (a) replacement and (b) repairs of
the specified vessel; if so, (i) what are the anticipated costs
of repairing the Africana to full operating capacity and (ii)
when will these repairs, if any, be completed?     NW821E
REPLY
1. (a) The process of replacing the RV Africana is still in the planning
phase and is likely to be anything between 5 and 10 years to build a new
vessel. It is estimated that the current repairs to the Africana will
extend her active years of service by 7-10 years, but beyond that the
vessel will not be able to render a ââvalue âfor âmoney ââservice as it
will be extremely costly to maintain.
1. (b) The estimated cost of replacing the RV Africana is R1.3 billion.
2. (a) Yes, a budgetary allocation, based on a business case, will be
requested to National Treasury. This will however not be done within the
Departmentâs Medium Term Expenditure Framework applications, but as a
special project application.
2. (b) Yes budget is allocated
The answer to questions (i) and (ii) is given in detail below:
The major factor influencing both the total remaining costs and
timeline for completion of
The vessel is the repair of the centre engine. At this time, there
are 3 repair options for the centre engine.
1. Option #1: Machine the current engine block and use spacers and new
cylinder liners.
2. Options #2: Source a suitable replacement second hand engine block and
then ship it to SA and install it on Board.
3. Options #3: Purchase of a new engine (This option has been pursued due
to long lead-time on engine delivery).
Over and above any of the engine replacement options, the remaining
work, that is currently known or estimated work, should amount to
approximately R1.5 million.
It should be noted that the timelines and cost estimates are dependent
on many variables, including Class approval times, SAMSA survey times
and unforeseen defects becoming evident.