Milestone for women in maritime: Commander Madiba makes history as the first woman to command a frigate in the SA Navy
… As new leaders take the helm of SA Navy ships
The South African Navy marked a dual milestone at Naval Base Simon’s Town on Thursday, 14 May, with Change of Command parades for frigate SAS Amatola (F145) and Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessel SAS King Shaka Zulu (P1572).
Frigate SAS Amatola and patrol vessel SAS King Shaka Zulu welcomed new commanding officers, but all eyes were on Captain Zanele Madiba. Her appointment makes her the first woman in South African Navy history to command a frigate. She formally succeeded Captain Dieter Jones, now Senior Staff Officer Operations Management.
For Captain Madiba, commanding one of the Navy’s premier warships is the culmination of a journey that began far from the sea. Raised in Soweto, she only saw the ocean for the first time after joining the Navy.
From that point, her career was built almost entirely at sea. She worked her way up through every key role: Officer of the Watch, Operations Officer, Navigator, and Executive Officer, before commanding a smaller vessel and eventually stepping onto the bridge of a frigate.
Her rise has been marked by firsts. In November 2020, she became the first African woman, and only the second woman ever, to command offshore patrol vessel SAS Makhanda (P1569).
Even so, Madiba admits the “first female” label wasn’t easy to embrace.
“I used to hate it when people said ‘first female,’ because it felt like it overshadowed the competency,” she said. “But over time, I accepted it. Now, the focus has to be on grooming the next generation of women and making sure they’re ready to take it on.”
It was a full-circle moment for Captain Madiba. Just weeks after taking command, she steered SAS Amatola on the South African Navy’s first overseas deployment in a decade—a 98-day mission to India for the International Fleet Review and Exercise Milan The return voyage included port visits to China, Malaysia, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Having sailed to India a decade earlier as a navigation officer aboard SAS Spioenkop, she described the experience as “repeating history,” but this time I’ve been promoted to a higher post.” She credited Captain Dieter Jones, who joined the deployment as Task Group Commander, for his support.
With further exercises like Red Lion and IBSAMAR potentially ahead, Madiba’s focus is clear: keep Amatola mission-ready until its scheduled docking in June 2027. “The vision is to maintain operational availability and readiness for the South African Navy and for South Africa,” she said.
The handover ceremony also gave Captain Dieter Jones a chance to reflect on a command that turned SAS Amatola’s fortunes around.
When he took over, he described the frigate as effectively “dead”—stuck in a prolonged maintenance period with minimal support, while sister ships SAS Spioenkop and SAS Mendi carried the operational load.
His approach was straightforward: unite the crew around a shared purpose and lead from the front. Jones offered advice for other commanding officers facing similar challenges: look after your crew and they’ll work for you; treat Armscor Dockyard and contractors with respect and outcomes improve; and get hands-on—crews want to see their OCs involved, not waiting for change to happen.
The results followed. Under his command, SAS Amatola completed her Docking and Essential Defects period, passed trials and training cycles, and returned to operational service.
Captain Jones leaves SAS Amatola with an operational record to match: 346 days deployed, 40,000+ nautical miles, and participation in Exercises Red Lion, IBSAMAR, Milan, Sekhukhu, and four Operation Corona patrols.
“From a dead ship to crossing the Indian Ocean,” he said of the journey leading to the recent India deployment. His parting advice to Madiba: “This ship’s company is your biggest asset. Look after them.”
In a separate parade, Commander Leon van Zyl took command of SAS King Shaka Zulu from Commander Gurshwin Herwels. Under Herwels, the MMIPV became the first in its class to qualify for both mine warfare and mission roles, logging over 30,000 nautical miles and 1,700 hours at sea.
Commander Leon van Zyl, who joined the Navy in 2001, said taking command of SAS King Shaka Zulu was the realization of a lifelong goal. “It means everything,” he said. “It’s everything I’ve worked for since day one.”
His immediate priority is simple: get the MMIPV to sea as often as possible.
“I want to maximize sea hours and take part in as many operations and exercises as we can,” he said. Key targets include Exercise IBSAMAR in October and further Operation Corona patrols. Van Zyl also wants to demonstrate the multi-mission capabilities the new class was built for—particularly mine warfare and diving.
Culled from DefenceWeb, Africa’s largest and most trusted online source of news, information, research, and insight on aerospace, defence, and security matters.
