The two patrol boats donated by the United States Navy (USA) to Cape Verde will allow “increasing the operational capacities” of the archipelago’s Coast Guard, the Minister of National Defense, Janine Lélis, assured this Friday.
These two vessels will increase the operational capabilities of the Cape Verde Coast Guard, mainly in the areas of coastal surveillance and port security,” said the official, on the island of São Vicente, upon receiving the new vessels, provided by the Command of the North American Armed Forces to Africa (Africom).
The two patrol boats of the Defiant 38 series, normally about 11 meters long, valued at 1.35 million dollars (1.3 million euros), were “designed to meet the needs of Cape Verde” and “are intended to reinforce the missions of the Coast Guard”, the result of “bilateral cooperation with the United States of America”, according to information from the Cape Verdean government.
The minister said that the Coast Guard “will surely know how to maximize the use of these vessels according to their missions, serving Cape Verde and Cape Verdeans when and when necessary.”
At the ceremony, which was also attended by the ambassador of the United States of America in Cape Verde, Jeff Daigle, Minister Janine Lélis said that this Government, from a “cooperative security” perspective, has “seeked to strengthen the bonds of cooperation existing”. with friendly countries”, in order to count on their invaluable collaboration to face security challenges”.
Covering an area of 4,033 square kilometers (km2), the Cape Verde archipelago extends over an area of approximately 87 miles (140 km) in radius, with around 1,000 km of coastline and a maritime area of national responsibility of 734,265 km2, which includes the archipelagic waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone and the Exclusive Economic Zone.
According to data from the Armed Forces of Cape Verde, the patrol boat “Guardião” is the most important in the Cape Verde Coast Guard fleet and has undergone several interventions in recent years. The 51-meter-long ship was built at the shipyards in Damen, the Netherlands, in 2011.
The fleet also includes the 52-meter “Vigilante” NP, built in Germany in 1971, the 26-meter “Tainha” NP, built in China in 1998, the “Espadarte” NP, built in the United States in 1993, as the NP “Rei”, from 2009 and with 13 meters.
Source: Observadora
