Yemen buys patrol boats [Archives:2003/641/Front Page]

Yemen Times staff
Yemen has recently signed a contract to buy patrol boats from Austil Ships Company to supply a fleet of 10 high-speed patrol boats to the Ministry of Defence.
The 37.5 metre aluminum monohull boasts will provide the level of capability Yemen would require in a reliable, simple to operate vessel that is easy to maintain. In a press release issued last week, the Austil Ships company said that the “patrol effectiveness that such a combination ensures is also being provided at a low acquisition cost for the purchaser, with the total contract price for the 10 vessels, spares, and a substantial package of training for 60 personnel coming in at well under US $55 million.”
This comes in a time Yemen and the USA are cooperating intensely in patrolling Yemeni coastline. Last week's visit of Combined Joint Task Force of Horn of Africa Commander Brigadier General Mastin M. Robeson to attend the graduation of a new batch of Yemeni coastguards was another signal of Yemen's focus on patrolling its borders.
On the same level, according to the Associated Press, unmanned aerial drones similar to ones used in the war on Iraq could be patrolling the US border by the end of the year to help stem illegal immigration and increase security.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Naif disclosed on June 9 plans to take wide-ranging measures in cooperation with Yemen to prevent terrorist attacks and the smuggling of weapons and explosives across the border.
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