Namibia welcomes Chinese-built logistic ship

Namibia's newest and largest naval vessel arrived in Walvis Bay on 13 August after setting out on its delivery voyage from Shanghai, China, a little over a month ago.

NS Elephant (S11) and its Namibian Navy (NN) crew of 65, who received six months' training in China, made port calls at Jakarta, Indonesia, and Port Louis, Mauritius, en route to southern Africa.

Namibia's deputy defence minister, Lempy Lucas, told local media that the 108 m logistic support vessel (LSV) would significantly expand the navy's capacity. "Namibia will continuously upgrade its security measures through the Namibian Navy," she was quoted as saying. "The ministry of defence set itself three objectives, which [are] to recruit and continuously train officers, construct naval facilities all over the country and acquire vessels."

Elephant was built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Company in Wuhan on the Yangtse River. Construction began in January 2011 and the ship was launched 10 months later. It was placed in the hands of its Namibian crew on 3 July 2012 and will be officially delivered to the NN on 7 September, according to local reports.