SAS Manthantisi was in the right place at the wrong time

CAPE TOWN – The head of the South African Navy, Monde Lobese, has presented the findings of a commission of inquiry into the tragic incident on the submarine SAS Manthatisi.

The incident resulted in the deaths of Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, Master Warrant Officer William Mathipa and Warrant Officer Mokwapa Mojela in rough seas near Kommetjie on September 20 last year.

The submariners were performing a vertical transfer from the submarine with the help of a South African Air Force helicopter when the seven crew members were washed out to sea by high waves.

This week, Lobese informed the Minister of Defense, war veterans and the families of the deceased submariners.

The Navy chief said that even if all lessons learned had been implemented and all corrective actions taken before this development, there was simply no way to ensure that the outcome would have been different.

Lobese said the crew of the SAS Manthantisi were heroes who followed their code of conduct and courageously carried out their mission, even at the risk of their own lives.

He said the submarine was simply in the right place at the wrong time when Mother Nature had the final say.