The Ukrainian Navy will receive 20 patrol boats after the signing of an intergovernmental framework agreement between Ukraine and France.
Once a final contract is signed, the aluminium boats will be built by French shipbuilder Ocea, with first deliveries scheduled for 2021. The entire fleet is to be delivered by 2023 under a contract that is estimated at 136 million euros.
The 32-meter vessels will be used for patrols of territorial waters, coastal protection and counter-sabotage missions. They will be based in Odessa, Mariupol, Berdyansk, Izmail and Kiliya.
The new ships will be larger than the six Gurza-M artillery boats currently in service with the Ukrainian Navy. The Ukrainian internal affairs ministry has revealed no details about the new boats’ weapons and systems fit-out.
Ocea delivered a version of the 32-meter boat, the FPB 98 MKI, to the Coast Guard of the Republic of the Suriname in June 2013.
