On January 28, 2020, representatives of the Ukrainian Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard start negotiating in Odesa the transfer to Ukraine of more U.S.-made Island-class patrol boats.
This was reported by Navy Recognition citing Navy press center reports.
The Ukrainian side is represented by the head of the shipbuilding department of the command of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Captain 1st Rank Vasyl Radchuk, while the U.S. delegation is led by Tony Correale, Military Sales Case ManagerUnited States Coast Guard.
The event lasts for three days in the format of conferences and negotiations with the development of a transfer plan for the needs of the Ukrainian Navy, an additional three Island type boats.
It is important to note that one of the issues of the meeting is the discussion of the possibility of preparing boats for the transfer and training of crews at the expense of the foreign side, as well as the possibility of additional training of Ukrainian instructors on the basis of the US Coast Guard military unit in Baltimore, which should further provide a full training cycle for future crews based on already received Island boats directly in Ukraine.
Captain 1st Rank Vasyl Radchuk expressed hope that by the end of 2020 the boats will be fully ready to receive the crew that Ukraine will send for training in early 2021.
It is planned that the first two boats will join the Ukrainian Navy in May 2021, the next a little later.
Island type patrol boats were built for the US coast guard by the American shipyard Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport (Louisiana) from 1985 to 1992 in the amount of 49 units.
