Metal Shark receives US contract to supply patrol boats for Vietnam

An image of the patrol vessels released by Metal Shark to accompany its announcement on the 13-hull contract for Vietnam. (Metal Shark)

US boatbuilder Metal Shark has been awarded a US government contract to build 13 patrol boats for Vietnam.

In a 30 September statement, Metal Shark said the award includes options for additional vessels and that construction will take place at its facility in Louisiana, USA.

The company described the new boats as Defiant-class patrol boats intended for coastal security missions including patrol, interdiction, search-and-rescue, and maritime law enforcement.

Metal Shark added that the vessels will share a common platform with boats already operated by US and partner-nation services.

The company did not identify the intended Vietnamese recipient.

However, the award builds on its earlier deliveries of 45 ft (13.7 m) Defiant patrol boats to the Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG), indicating that the service is the likely end user of the vessels.

No technical specifications were disclosed, but imagery released by the company with its statement shows patrol craft with aluminium hulls, enclosed wheelhouses, deep-V hulls, and navigation and communications equipment mounted above the cabin.

This design closely resembles the Defiant patrol boats previously supplied to Vietnam.

The funding mechanism behind the programme has not been publicly identified, and there are no corresponding announcements from either the US or Vietnamese government at the time of writing.

But several US security-assistance frameworks could account for the procurement, with the most likely mechanism being the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme, under which the US Department of State funds security-capability development for partner countries.

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