Portugal sells four patrol vessels to the Dominican Republic for 24 million euros

Lisbon.- Portugal signed a contract for the sale of four coastal patrol vessels to Dominican Republic for 24 million euros, which can be supplemented with additional options in systems and equipment, the Portuguese Ministry of Defense reported in a statement this Thursday.

The sale will be formalized this Friday with a ceremony and a press conference in which the Minister of Defense of Portugal, Nuno Melo, and his Dominican counterpart, Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre, will participate, at the fort of São João Baptista, in Porto.

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The agreement includes an integrated capacity transfer program, comprising maintenance and modernization actions, supply of ammunition and spare parts, technical documentation, training and instruction of crews and management teams, in order to guarantee the full operability of the vessels in service of the Dominican Navy. The delivery of the ships will be carried out in phases, with the first ship being delivered within 12 months after the completion of the logistics phase, and the remaining ones within maximum periods of 20, 30 and 40 months, respectively. The ‘Tejo’ class ships are multipurpose units, about 50 meters long and with a displacement of 345 tons, in service in the Portuguese Navy since 2016. They are intended for maritime patrol and surveillance missions, control of waters under national jurisdiction, as well as search and rescue and maritime security, specified the Portuguese Defense portfolio.