Construction of Patrol Boats for Ukraine Starts in France

In France, the construction of patrol boats for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has started within the framework of the Ukraine-France agreement on strengthening the maritime security and border protection system of Ukraine, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine informs.

“The hulls are 30-50% ready. In three years, Ukrainian border guards will receive 20 boats for border protection, surveillance operations and counteraction to sabotage and reconnaissance groups; five of them will be manufactured in Ukraine,” said Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov.

As noted, a group of Ukrainian experts will travel to the French city of Les Sables-d’Olonne next spring to provide ongoing feedback and continuity in the construction process.

Currently, the Ukrainian and French sides are discussing the possibility of providing future border guard boats with certain equipment and other means necessary for the protection of maritime borders. In addition, the issues of training technical staff and boat crews, technical support and after-sales service, etc. are addressed.

To recap, the contract for the implementation of the project to strengthen the maritime security and Ukraine’s border protection system provides for the construction and transfer of 20 FPB 98 MKI modern patrol boats to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine within three years. A quarter of them will be built by a domestic shipbuilding company using French technology.

Bohdan Marusyak