The USA handed over 4 patrol boats to Ukrainian border guards

The United States donated 4 patrol boats to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink reported about this on X (Twitter).

According to her, the patrol boats were delivered last week.

Patrol boats are needed to protect Ukraine’s coastline, ports and rivers.

“These boats will enable more ships to export grain and other vital goods to the world, supporting Ukrainian farmers and businesses – and Ukraine’s economy,” the Ambassador wrote on X.

The exact type of boats that were handed over to the Ukrainian border guards is not disclosed, but the US ambassador used a photo of a Metal Shark 45 Defiant patrol boat in her post.

The Metal Shark 45 Defiant boats have an all-aluminum construction and a hull length of 13.8 meters and a width of 4.6 meters. They can reach a speed of 35-40 knots.

The vessels are optimized for the mission in Ukraine and equipped with modern navigation, control and video surveillance systems.

In January 2022, it was reported that the United States would transfer modern high-speed boats by the Metal Shark company for the Ukrainian Sea Guard.

It regards the boats of the Defiant and Fearless projects, which are designed to patrol and quickly detain offenders.

Ukrainian border guards also received patrol boats from the European Union as part of the project “Together with the EU to Secure Borders.”

These were UMS-425 CC boats manufactured by UMS. They can accommodate a crew of four and are equipped with the life jackets and an echo sounder used to determine the depth of water under the vessel.