The signing of this agreement will strengthen the capacity of assistance and reaction to emergencies that arise in coastal and river areas of the country.
- The new unit will be built by COTECMAR, with an investment that would cost more than nine billion Colombian pesos.
- This project represents a key progress in the strengthening of national maritime construction and in the modernization of resources destined to risk management and river and maritime safety.
On board the facilities of the ARC Bolívar Naval Base, the Colombian Navy and the National Federation of Departments formalized the signing of the agreement for the construction of a specialized Apostol type ship, aimed at strengthening the response capacity to emergencies in coastal and river areas of the country.
The unit will be built by the Science and Technology Corporation for the Naval, Maritime and River Industry – COTECMAR-, with an investment of more than nine billion Colombian pesos. This modern interception boat will be a high-speed platform with a capacity of more than 40 knots, designed to strengthen operations against smuggling in water bodies and reinforce control and surveillance tasks.
The protocol ceremony was presided over by Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo Obregón, Commander of the National Navy, who, together with the director of the National Federation of Departments, Didier Tavera and Rafaela Cortés Zambrano, Governor of the department of Meta and President of the National Federation of Departments, formalized the agreement. During the ceremony it was noted that the construction of the ship will take approximately 20 months.
The unit will have the following technical specifications:
- Length : 12,50 meters
- width: 3.70 meters
- hull depth: 0.66 meters
- Capacity: Crew of six people
The ship will be built through a co-production scheme with SAFE Boats International, an American company specializing in high-performance aluminum boats intended for military, police, rescue and emergency response operations.
Once it enters into operation, the platform will lead patrol, interception and control missions to be carried out in maritime and river environments, strengthening the fight against smuggling. With day and night deployment capacity, operation in variable weather conditions and high maneuverability, it will in the same way contribute to the protection of departmental incomes and search, rescue and security tasks of strategic assets of the Nation.
Source: Press - Navy of Colombia
