Press Release
Georgian Coast Guard Receives Patrol Vessel from the U.S.
December 11, 2000
Poti-On December 12th, 2000, U.S. Ambassador Kenneth S. Yalowitz, Chairman of the Georgian Border Guards Department General Lieutenant Chkheidze, and Mayor of Poti Akaki Darjania will be present at a ceremony formally accepting the 32-meter coastal patrol vessel "Dadiani" into the Georgian Coast Guard fleet. The Dadiani is a gift from the United States to the Coast Guard as part of the Border Security and Law Enforcement program.
The program was enacted to help the Georgian Government develop and improve its ability to protect its borders. The transfer of the ship, which is the largest single United States Excess Defense Article to date given to Georgia, was coordinated through the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Defense Cooperation.
The ship and her crew of two officers and 10 sailors will give the Coast Guard the ability to patrol continuously for up to three days at longer ranges and faster speeds than before. The primary missions are counter-smuggling, port and offshore oil terminal security and search and rescue operations. The "Dadiani" significantly improves the current capabilities of the Coast Guard to conduct such operations.
The "Dadiani" was formerly a U.S. Coast Guard Vessel, decommissioned in July of this year. A Georgian crew trained in the United States took possession of the ship in Florida and sailed her under Georgian flag to Charleston, South Carolina where she underwent reconditioning. The vessel was then shipped on a larger cargo vessel to the port of Izmir, Turkey, where the crew rejoined her in mid-November. From Turkey, the crew sailed the "Dadiani" across the Black Sea to her new homeport of Poti.
The ship arrival ceremony will take place at 2:00pm at the main port of Poti. For further information, contact the Georgian Coast Guard Office, tel. 25 19 30.