The first OCEA boat for Ukrainian Coast Guard was launched in France today

The first OCEA FPB98MKI boat for Ukrainian Coast Guard was launched in France, reports Militarnyi.

The final works on installation, adjustment and preparation of the ship’s equipment for mooring tests are currently being completed:

The boat sea trials will begin next week and will last until the end of January.

A new boat is expected to arrive in Ukraine next spring, after sea trials.

The event was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to France Vadym Omelchenko, OCEA CEO Roland Joassard, OCEA leadership and management, as well as representatives of the working group of the State Border Guard Service to supervise the construction of the boats.

The Ambassador of Ukraine thanked the French side for fulfilling the contract and noted that one of the achievements of this contract is that 5 of the 20 boats planned will be built in Ukraine with the help of French specialists at Nibulon Ukrainian facilities in Mykolayiv.

You can learn more about the construction of OCEA boats for Ukrainian Coast Guard by Nibulon under the agreement between the French company OCEA and the MoI of Ukraine from the articles by Militarnyi.

Vladyslav Shmaliov, Deputy Head of the Coast Guard of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, who is in France together with the working group of the State Border Guard Service to oversee the construction of the boats, said that the boat can achieve the speed of up to 30 knots (about 60 km / h).

Ukrainian Coast Guard sailors will arrive in France in the near future to master operation and maintenance of the new equipment under the supervision of OCEA specialists.

The implementation of this project became possible after signing of a framework intergovernmental agreement between Ukraine and France in 2019. It provides loans from the French government and European banks for the construction of French boats in the amount of 136.5 million Euros.