Senegal is set to receive 2 RPB 33 patrol boats from France’s Raidco Marine which had delivered a single unit of the same boat in 2013. The contract was signed in 2018 and the boats are expected to be delivered to Senegal in October this year and June 2020.
Both new vessels are being built at Raidco’s UFAST Shipyard and will be delivered as aforementioned, with crew training expected to begin in the coming months.
The 33.73-metre-long, 6.5-meter-wide vessels are powered by two 1 100 hp MAN engines, giving a top speed of 22 knots and a range of 1 500 miles at 15 knots for an endurance of one week at sea. The boats are very effective surveillance seeing as it features a bridge design which allows for 360-degree surveillance.
Senegalese vessels will most likely be armed with a 20 mm cannon and 12.7 mm machineguns. The new vessels are part of Senegal’s plan to renew its naval fleet and allow the maritime arm of service to carry out missions such as fisheries inspection, fighting drug trafficking and piracy.
