The USCGC John Midgett, a U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat, is on its way to Vietnam where it will be transferred to the Vietnamese Coast Guard, the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam said on Wednesday. 

Operated by a Vietnamese crew, the patrol boat left Seattle, the United States for Vietnam on Tuesday.

This is the second ship delivered to Vietnam’s Coast Guard under the U.S. Excess Defense Articles program, an initiative which provides excess military equipment to U.S. partners and allies to support their modernization efforts.

This Hamilton-class ship was re-painted to feature the Vietnamese words 'Vietnam Coast Guard,' before delivery to the Southeast Asian country. 

The USCGC John Midgett was renamed CSB 8021 and will be added to the Vietnam Coast Guard Region 3 patrol fleet this summer.

Two Vietnamese crews were sent to the U.S. for training on the ship in November 2020 and February this year.

The USCGC John Midgett, the last in a series of 12 large Hamilton-class patrol boats formerly employed by the U.S. Coast Guard, was built in 1971 and retired in 2020.

The patrol boat is 115 meters long and 13 meters wide. It has a displacement of 3,050 metric tons and is equipped with four engines.

The vessel has a maximum speed of 54 kilometers per hour and is capable of operating at sea for 45 consecutive days.

It has a range of 20,000 kilometers.

As a large-sized patrol boat, the USCGC John Midgett will be an important supplement to the Vietnam Coast Guard fleet, which is currently limited to include boats with displacements ranging from less than 1,000 to around 2,500 metric tons.

The delivery of retired ships and other military equipment to Vietnam is a prime component of the regional security partnership between the U.S. and Vietnam, the U.S. Embassy commented.

The first U.S. Coast Guard vessel delivered to Vietnam, the USCGC Morgenthau, docked in the Southeast Asian country in May 2017.

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