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.

SAS Amatola was built at the Blohm + Voss shipyards in Hamburg, Germany, and she arrived in South Africa on 4 June 2003.

On 7 April 2006 Amatola arrived from Kiel after accompanying the submarine Manthatisi to Simon's Town on her maiden voyage.

Mhlana, Deputy Chief of the Navy in May 2023, Amatola had been scheduled for a refit since 2018 but no work had been done to date.

[6] During 2007, this vessel became the first South African frigate in decades to take part in the Royal Navy's Basic Operational Sea Training (BOST) programme,[7] however without any embarked Super Lynx 300 helicopters, since these had not been delivered by the Westland company at the time.