The Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) took receipt of six patrol boats from the US on 22 May, with the US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius officiating at a ceremony in the central province of Quang Nam.
The 13m-long boats, of the Defiant 45 model type, were built by Louisiana-based Metal Shark and will be used by VCG Region II, which covers the central region of Vietnam’s eastern coast abutting the Paracel Islands.
The boats will be employed for ‘inter-coastal patrols and law enforcement in smuggling, illicit trafficking, piracy and armed robbery against ships, and illegal fishing,’ according to the US