U.S. plans to hand over to Ukraine Navy another three Island-class patrol boats in 2021

January 30, 2020 (UNIAN) Representatives of the Ukrainian Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard are negotiating in Odesa the transfer to Ukraine of more U.S.-made Island-class patrol boats, Navy press center reports. The Ukrainian side is represented by the head of the shipbuilding department of the command of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Captain 1st Rank Vasyl Radchuk, while the U.S. delegation is led by Tony Correale, Military Sales Case Manager United States Coast Guard. 

"The issue of supplying three more boats during this and next years is currently under discussion. The acceptance of boats is a long process that requires both updating and modernizing the equipment onboard those boats and crew training," said the Ukraine Navy official. 

Radchuk expressed hope that by the end of 2020 the boats will be fully ready to receive crew Ukraine will send for training in early 2021. "Previously, the first two boats will be part of the Naval forces of the Armed forces of Ukraine in May 2021, the next with a small interval," he added. In addition, during the meeting in Odesa, the possibility is being discussed of preparing boats for transferring, as well as crew training, at the expense of the U.S., as well as the possibility of additional training of Ukrainian instructors at the U.S. Coast Guard base in Baltimore. In the future, the instructors will be ensuring a full training cycle for future crews based on the already received Island boats in Ukraine. As UNIAN reported earlier, the official transfer of two Island-class patrol boats from the U.S. Coast Guard to the Ukrainian Navy took place on September 27, 2018 at a naval base in Baltimore (Maryland, USA). 

On October 21, 2019, said Island-class boats were delivered to Odesa, which in 2018 the United States transferred to Ukraine as part of military aid. Two Island-class patrol boats were delivered to the Odesa seaport, brought by the Ocean Freedom general cargo vessel. The two boats, P190 Sloviansk and P191 Starobielsk, built in 1988, were offered to Ukraine as part of the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. As reported earlier, Ukraine planned to replenish its Navy fleet with four U.S.-made Island-class boats. The vessels will be based in Odesa, which is now home to the country's main naval base. Island-type boats have a full displacement of 165 tonnes and are able to reach speeds of up to 30 knots, with a cruising range exceeding 5,300 km. They are able to operate autonomously for up to five days.