The SA defence news website reports that Mozambique’s first three HSI 32 interceptor vessels are currently being shipped to the port of Pemba, in the north of the country.
Built at the French shipyard, Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN), they are designed to fight piracy, trafficking, smuggling and illegal immigration; and conduct the protection of vulnerable vessels and offshore installations and escort of convoys.
The vessels are 32.2 metres long and 6.4m wide, have a crew of 12 people, a top speed of 43 knots and a range of three days or 800 nautical miles.
They were loaded on the Dutch cargo ship Deltagracht on January 9, DefenceWeb added, and are due to arrive in Mozambique on February 1.