The Hellenic Navy took delivery of the first two of four ordered U.S.-made Island-class patrol boats on July 3.
Greece is the sixth country to acquire patrol boats of this type. The boats arrived at the port of Perama, and two more will arrive in a few weeks, local media reported.
These boats will replace the Norwegian-built Nasty-class and French-built Antoniou-class.
The ships are transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard unit stationed in Manama, Bahrain. The boats formed the basis of the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA) to provide the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet with a combat-ready patrol force.
The 110-foot Island-class patrol boats are a U.S. Coast Guard modification of British-designed patrol boat from Vosper Thornycroft (UK) Ltd. The U.S. has replaced Island-class boats with more powerful Sentinel boats.