New Angolan surveillance vessels fight illegal fishing

The Angolan order is the result of collaboration between the Dutch Government and ING Bank - who co-financed the project - and Damen Shipyards.

West-Africa's Atlantic coast holds vast and rich fishing grounds, making Angola's territorial waters prone to illegal fishing. Angola, Namibia and South Africa work together, under a Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional programme, to protect and survey the fishing grounds and, seeing that fishing is one of Angola's largest economic sectors, the vessels represent a real opportunity for the Angolan Ministry to protect this vital national asset. At the same time, the FISV Ngola Kiluange can also be used for various other jobs - such as salvaging.

According to Forbes, the Dutch government's ORET international development initiative regulates Dutch-Angolan co-operation within a clear institutional framework. True to the slogan 'Africa for Africa', education, training and building financial reserves for maintenance and replacement were all a compulsory parts of the deal. At the same time Damen delivers spare parts, offers its Angolan customers training and education as well as special vessel maintenance programs - all necessary services are provided by Damen's Cape Town Shipyards.

Read the full article on www.forbes.com/.