SAS Spioenkop ( F147 ) SAS " Spioenkop " ( F147 ) is the third of four Valour class frigate s for the South African Navy built by the European South African Corvette Consortium . She was named by Ms Thandi Modise , the then Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Defence , in Hamburg , Germany , on 4 June 2003 . Construction . They were manufactured by the European South African Corvette Consortium ( ESACC ) , consisting of the German Frigate Consortium ( Blohm + Voss , Thyssen Rheinstahl and Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werf ) , African Defence Systems ( part of the French Thales Group defence company ) and a number of South African companies . The ships were built to the MEKO modular design concept , and they are designated by the manufacturer as the MEKO A - 200SAN class . Some controversy exists as to the class type of the vessel , with both the manufacturer and the South African Navy referring to her as a " corvette " , but other similar vessels in other navies being referred to as frigates . Some have claimed that the use of the word corvette was a political decision made by the South African government to ease criticism of the procurement of the vessels . The SAS " Spioenkop " was built at the Blohm + Voss shipyards in Hamburg , Germany , and arrived in South Africa on 31 May 2004 . Namesake . As with all the other ships of the Valour class , the " Spioenkop " is named after a famous South African battle or instance of great valour . In this case the famous Battle of Spioenkop between the Boers and Great Britain , during the Anglo - Boer War . Notable Deployments . Exercise Whippet . The South African Navy conducted its first combined tactical Exocet missile firing exercise when the frigates , SAS " Spioenkop " and SAS " Mendi " , fired two missiles ( one from each frigate ) at MFV " Azalea " , an old fishing trawler donated to the SA Navy by I & J fishing company for use a target ship . The firing was conducted on Thursday 28 June 2007 in Exercise Area Pandora , south of Cape Point . Exercise Dolphin 2008 . A joint naval exercise between Ghana and South Africa . The following ships were involved in the exercise , SAS " Spioenkop " and the Ghanaian Naval vessels GNS " Anzone " , " Bonsu " , " Yogaga " , " Sero " and " Achimota " . Activities included simulated opposed and unopposed boarding , fleetwork as well as rescue assist . To add to this schedule there was a contingent of Ghanaian media representatives on board , who were ferried between the different vessels . Exercise Greenpoint 2008 . This was an exercise in preparation for the FIFA 2010 World Cup Soccer tournament , as part of Operation KGWELA . A combined exercise with SANDF and SAPS personnel took place over the period 13 to 19 March 2008 in Cape Town to formalise the air defence concept for the tournament . Operation Caraway . The ship conducted a three month , six - country visit to the Far East . " Spioenkop " visited Singapore from 3 – 8 October , Shanghai in the People ’ s Republic of China from 16 – 20 October , Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia from 25 – 29 October , Ho Chi Minh City in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 31 October to 5 November ) , Cochin in India from 14 – 20 November and Port Louis in Mauritius from 26 November to 1 December . The ship conducted naval exercises with the Singaporean Navy , the People ’ s Liberation Army Navy of the People ’ s Republic of China , the Indian Navy and the Mauritian Coast Guard . The ship ' s company also engaged in various diplomatic related activities with all the countries visited .