The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE government has signed $17 million in contracts to repair and retrofit four Royal Bahamas Defence Force vessels, a move National Security Minister Myles LaRoda said will strengthen the country's maritime security and return key patrol ships to active service.

Mr LaRoda said the repairs are essential as The Bahamas works to protect its 100,000 square miles of territorial waters from poaching, illegal migration, and other maritime threats.

Mr LaRoda said the repair programme will cost $17 million, noting that HMBS Rolly Gray is expected to return to The Bahamas before the end of the year. At the same time, the remaining vessels will undergo more extensive work.

“The Rolly Gray should be back home before the end of the year. The Arthur Dion Hanna, I think, is the largest of the fleet,” he said yesterday on the sidelines of an event.

“The repair time is around 75 weeks, I think, and the Cascarilla is around 55 weeks. So we are talking about completely retrofitting some of the navigation systems. The electrical systems are obsolete, so you're going to have ships coming back that are like new."

The contracts cover repairs to HMBS Arthur Dion Hanna, HMBS Rolly Gray and HMBS Cascarilla, which are currently in the Netherlands, and HMBS Lawrence Major, which will undergo repairs at Cotecmar Shipyard in Colombia.

The agreements were signed during a ceremony in the Netherlands on July 22 by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Bridget Hepburn and Bastin Kubbe, Regional Manager for the Caribbean at Damen Services.

During the ceremony, Mr LaRoda said the repair programme reflects the government's commitment to strengthening border protection, enhancing national security, and restoring the operational readiness of the Defence Force fleet.