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By Ahmed Elumami
Tripoli, 20 May 2013:
The Special Naval Forces of the General Chief of Staff of the Libyan army today showed . . .[restrict]off some of the 30 new semi-rigid fast patrol boats recently delivered from France,
The vessels are part a 50-boat order signed with manufacturer Sillinger this January at the Tripoli Military Fair. Some are armour-plated and the largest vessel, the 1200 RIB UM Inboard, carries high-tech equipment on board.
Naval Special Forces spokesman Col, Ayoub Qassem explained that the vessels which range in length from 3.5 to 12 metres would be distributed among units from Ras Ijdar in the west to Al-Burdi in the east. They will be used to patrol ports and vital installations as well as, intrusion and landings.
This evening seven of the new vessels put on a high-speed display within Tripoli harbour to appreciative crowds on the Corniche.
Naval forces took delivery of Dutch-made patrol craft earlier this year and Qassem said that 25 South-Korean patrol boat were due to arrive shortly for the Coastguard Marine forces. [/restrict]
