Egyptian Navy Receives Three U.S.-made Cyclone-Class Coastal Patrol Craft

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) transferred three patrol craft to the Egyptian Navy, March 21, during a formal ceremony in Alexandria, Egypt.

The U.S. Navy turned over former patrol coastal ships USS Hurricane (PC 3), USS Sirocco (PC 6), and USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) after sailing from Bahrain to Egypt during a month-long journey around the Arabian Peninsula, January through February.

During the 4,000-mile transit to Alexandria, U.S. and Egyptian crewmembers worked side-by-side safely navigating the three ships on a voyage that included port visits to Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates; Duqm, Oman; Djibouti; and Berenice, Egypt.

U.S. and Egyptian service members continued training after the ships arrived in Alexandria, Feb. 12. Classroom lessons included discussions on engineering, search and rescue, damage control and weapons handling.

The Egyptian Navy currently commands Combined Task Force 153, one of four multinational task forces organized under U.S.-led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). The task force coordinates multinational maritime security efforts in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden.

NAVCENT and CMF are headquartered in Manama, Bahrain. They include maritime forces operating in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandeb.