A modern blue-water patrol and rescue boat was handed over on Tuesday by the Ministry of Defense to the Border Command of Kien Giang, a province in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam.

The ceremony took place at Phao Dai Border Post in the town of Ha Tien, Kien Giang, the westernmost region of southern Vietnam bordering Cambodia to the west and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

The boat, code-named BP 20 19-01, is said to be the most modern of its kind to be given to the Border Command of Kien Giang and carries a high-velocity water canon designed for firefighting operations or the protection of Vietnamese waters against foreign trespassers.

The boat started to be built in 2012 in the northern province of Hai Phong along with a batch of similar patrol boats.

The boat, which is 30m long and 6.7m wide, has a surface height of 3.6m, a waterline of 2m and maximum displacement of 160 tons, is made of hardened steel and boasts a total power of 3,822HP.

The vessel is equipped with an electronic-hydraulic maneuvering system with the option of manual or automatic maneuvering, together with state-of-the-art technology including depth sounders, tachometers, a satellite positioning system, a weather map receiver, and an automatic fire alarm.

A firefighting system using carbon dioxide as well as an emergency room are also integrated into the boat’s design.

BP 20 19-01 can operate in big waves reaching level 8 and can simultaneously carry out rescue missions for multiple ships in distress.

Alongside maritime rescue operations, the advanced vessel can also cooperate with other forces in protecting Vietnam’s national sovereignty at sea.

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