DEFENCEWEB
The Tunisian Navy has commissioned its first locally built patrol boat, the product of a partnership between the government and a shipbuilding company.
The boat, named Al Istiklal (Independence), was launched by Defense Minister Farhat Horchani at a ceremony in the Gulf of Tunis on August 21, 2015. Horchani told guests that the boat was built entirely by Tunisian engineers. He added that the country was the first to develop a successful shipbuilding industry in the Arab world and among the first in Africa.
The government partnered with Société de Construction Industrielle et Navale, based in Sfax, to start the construction in March 2013. The boat was handed over to the Ministry of Defence in July 2015. Horchani said the partnership hopes to build and export more patrol boats to African and Middle Eastern countries.
Horchani said building the patrol boat cost about
40 percent less than buying the vessel on the international market. The 80-ton boat is 26.5 meters long and 5.8 meters wide. It is powered by two Rolls-Royce engines, each of which produces 3,200 horsepower, giving a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 600 nautical miles. It is armed with a 20 mm cannon and two machine guns, and it can accommodate a 12-person crew. It also is fitted with a thermal-imaging camera.
Above: Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, right, tours the locally built vessel, Al Istiklal. OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, TUNISIA
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