Mako Marine, a South African-based company has delivered more than half a dozen Defender 470 inflatable boats to the Armed Forces of Mozambique (FADM).
According to media outlet defenceWeb, the Defender 470 boats were procured by the FADM to replace unserviceable boats in its inventory.
Mozambique Navy is the third arm of the Mozambique Armed Defense Forces or FADM (Portuguese: Forças Armadas de Defesa de Moçambique). And as of 2004, only 2000 personnel are in Mozambique Navy.
Mozambique’s President and Commander-in-Chief Filipe Nyusi on 15 February inspected the new deliveries.
Mako Marine Africa specialises in supplying commercial and military boats, as well as boat repairs and boat training.
The Mako 470 is a fully inflatable model with a rigid aluminium floor and Hypalon (hydrocarbon resistant material) pontoons, reinforced for military use. It is powered by a 50 hp Yamaha outboard engine, which was selected due to its simplicity, ease of maintenance and ready availability of parts.
Users of Mako Marine boats includes Sierra Leone, Senegal, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe.
Mozambique Navy currently operates mostly small patrol crafts of just 14 vessels.
Mozambique Navy operates mainly small boats for patrolling the Mozambican Channel – a key transit route for maritime traffic towards the Indian Ocean.
For more than a decade, maritime crimes have been a major source of worry not only in Mozambique but in the Southern African region.
Last year, the Mozambican Navy received two additional fast interceptor boats from India to help sustain it’s capacity building.
The two boats which are the Solas Marine fast interceptor craft were handed over during a port visit by the tank landing ship INS Kesari.
Also, two years ago, as part of the U.S. commitment to assist Mozambique in stabilizing the conflict-ridden Cabo Delgado province, the U.S. government donated a patrol boat to the Mozambican navy.
The 33-foot SAFE high-speed boat, valued at $700,000, will be used for interdictions and maritime boarding operations.