Tunisia takes delivery of new patrol boats

Cantiere Navale Vittoria handed over the first two patrol boats it has built for Tunisia's National Guard during a ceremony at the Italian shipyard's Adria facilities on 1 December.

"The first two patrol boats [GN3501 and GN3502] have been built under the new P350 project design," Cantiere Navale Vittoria President Luigi Duo told IHS Jane's . "With a 140-tonne full displacement, a 35 m length, and a 7.2 m beam, the new patrol vessels are built of aluminium and feature a propulsion system based on two shafts, with one 3120 kW MTU 16V2000 M93 diesel engine and one Rolls-Royce Kamewa 63 S3 NP hydrojet, offering a maximum speed of over 38 knots."

With a crew of 16, the new patrol boats feature integrated command, control, and navigation suites, which include satellite and radio links between ships and shore-based facilities that were provided by Italian company AlmavivA as prime contractor.

The boats were built under a EUR16.6 million (USD22 million) contract awarded by the Italian government as part of an April 2011 agreement to bolster Tunisia's ability to counter illegal migration from Africa to Europe.