The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service yesterday received a Coast Guard Vessel valued US$700,000 that will boost its capacity to carry out its tasks, which includes protecting this nation’s maritime borders.

The Government of the United States officially handed over the Safe Boat to the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at a ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Coast Guard Base at Villa.

US Ambassador for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Linda Tag-lia-tela in her remarks at the ceremony said that the purchase of this Coast Guard vessel began in August 2015 as part of the United States Secure Seas Programme, which is a component of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) launched in 2009.

Ambassador Tag-lia-tela said the 33 foot defender class Safe Interceptor Vessel, will compliment two other vessels that were handed over to the SVG Coast Guard in 2012, under the same programme.

The Ambassador said she hopes the addition of this vessel will help further prepare and equip the local Coast Guard to respond to a variety of threats this region faces.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves thanked the United States Government for this important contribution to the SVG Coast Guard.

He noted that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the only member state of the Regional Security System (RSS) to receive a third Safe Boat from the US Government.

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