SAS President Kruger ( F150 ) The SAS " President Kruger " was a frigate of the South African Navy . She sank in 1982 with the loss of 16 lives after colliding with her replenishment ship , the SAS " Tafelberg " , in the South Atlantic . History . was one of three " President " - class type 12 frigates obtained by the South African Navy in the 1960s following the Simonstown Agreement with the Royal Navy . She was christened upon launch by the wife of Admiral Hugo Biermann ; her home port was Simonstown , near Cape Town . On 5 August 1969 , she was recommissioned after an extensive refit and modernization . She participated in various operations during the South African Border War , including the Ambrizete Incident . USA visit . In 1976 , this flagship of the South African Navy participated in an International Naval Review in New York as part of the bicentennial independence celebrations of the United States . In the process , she became the first South African naval vessel to visit the USA . She departed Simonstown on 3 June 1976 , sailing via Walvis Bay , Abidjan and Las Palmas to Norfolk , Virginia . From there , she sailed in a fleet of 53 warships from 22 countries to New York for the Naval Review on 4 July . On 6 July , members of the ship ' s company paraded through the streets of New York , after which the " President Kruger " sailed home to Simonstown via Charleston , South Carolina and Las Palmas . Politician Tony Leon was the official photographer for this journey . End of life . The aging President Class frigates were earmarked for disposal in 1978 , with newer D ' Estienne d ' Orves class vessels scheduled to replace them . However the imposition of United Nations Security Council Resolution 418 put an end to both the sale of the replacement corvettes , as well as any refurbishment of the President Class frigates . Accident and sinking . On 18 February 1982 , while under the command of Captain de Lange , the " President Kruger " was conducting complex exercises with her sister ship the SAS " President Pretorius " , the submarine SAS " Emily Hobhouse " and the replenishment ship SAS " Tafelberg " . The high - intensity exercises progressed from 6 am to 11 pm over several days , with different candidate submarine captains being given an opportunity of executing a mock attack against the " Tafelberg " . From 11 pm until 6 am , the ships followed a narrow zip - zag course that allowed the submarine repeated opportunities to engage the surface ships in lower - intensity exercises while the bulk of the crew rested . The frigates too were using the opportunity to carry out anti - submarine exercises , with each ship given a patrol sector ahead of the " Tafelberg " . The escorts were expected to patrol their areas in a random fashion , between and from " Tafelberg " . The " President Kruger ' s " station was on " Tafelberg ' s " port side between 10 and 330 degrees . The " President Steyn " had a reciprocal box on the starboard side . At approximately 4 am , the whole formation had to change direction by 154 degrees , a near complete reversal in direction . The frigates had to change direction first to maintain their protective positions ahead of " Tafelberg " on the new heading . " President Kruger ' s " options were to turn 200 degrees to port , or 154 degrees to starboard . While the latter turn was smaller and tactically sound , it was more dangerous as it involved turning towards the other two ships . Critically , the officer of the watch ( OOW ) elected to turn to starboard , and initiated a 10 degree turn . A 10 degree turn had a larger radius and would take longer to execute than a 15 degree turn , thereby allowing " Tafelberg " more time to close on the ship turning in front of her . Partway through the turn , the operations room lost radar contact with the " Tafelberg " in the clutter . At that point , an argument ensued between the OOW and the Principal Warfare Officer over the degree of wheel to apply . The OOW was unable to recover the situation , and the bows of the " Tafelberg " impacted the " President Kruger " on her port side at the senior rating s ' mess . The " President Kruger " sank south west of Cape Point with the loss of sixteen lives . A Westland Wasp helicopter , operated by 22 Squadron SAAF from the other frigate , rescued crew members from the water . Aftermath . A naval board of inquiry was commissioned , leading to a finding of a lack of seamanship by the captain and officers of the ship . The Minister of Justice introduced a retrospective change in law to allow him to hold an inquest into the death of one of the seamen . The inquest aportioned blame on the captain and PWO . However none of the officers was court - martialled . As a result of an international arms embargo against apartheid South Africa , the ship could not be replaced , and was therefore a great loss to the capability and morale of the navy for many years afterwards . The Navy ' s prestigious ' Cock of the Fleet ' trophy , which had been won by her ship ' s crew in the annual rowing regatta , was lost with the ship .