WALVIS BAY - Monday, August 13, 2012 marked the end of an era for the naval ship, ‘Lt. General Dimo Hamaambo’ that was decommissioned from active service in the Namibian Navy.

The naval ship, a donation by Brazil will be dismantled locally and sold as scrap metal by means of a public auction by the Ministry of Works and Transport in consultation with the Treasury.

The ship will now be transferred within the next seven days to the Ministry of Works and Transport for auction purposes, after all combat equipment, oil and lubricants are removed. The godmother of the ship, the Minister of Justice Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, the Deputy Minister of Defence Lempy Lucas, Namibian Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Peter Vilho, Rear Admiral Ndeshiningilwa Nghipandua, the Namibian Navy Chief for Naval Operations and the Mayor of Walvis Bay Derek Klazen witnessed the ceremony.

 The ‘Lt. General Dimo Hamaambo’ was the first combat vessel of the Namibian Navy that was acquired through a fruitful naval co-operation that was signed on March 04, 1994 between Namibia and Brazil, which was renewed once again on December 03, 2001.

The now 58-year-old ship, was donated in 2004 to the Namibian Navy and named after Lt. General Dimo Hamaambo - a   founder member of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN), the armed wing of Swapo during the liberation struggle, who also became the first Chief of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF) until his retirement in 2000.

The ship was built in Holland, launched in 1954 and commissioned in the Brazilian Navy in 1955. The 55m-long vessel was first called Purus after the Indian warriors of the Amazonian people, and is of the class Imperial Marinheiro.