Mozambican Navy receives two interceptor boats donated by India

The Indian government, through the Ministry of Defence (MOD), formally handed over two new interceptor boats in a series to the Mozambican Navy in a ceremony in Mozambique on Friday, November 8.

These 16-metre-long, waterjet-propelled boats have a top speed of 45 knots and a range of 200 nautical miles at 12 knots. They can each carry a crew of five and are equipped with machine guns and wheelhouses fitted with ballistic protection.

The vessels will be used for missions including maritime counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency, particularly in the ongoing campaign against Islamic State-aligned extremists in Cabo Delgado province.

The Mozambican Navy had earlier received two other fast interceptor craft from India in 2019. The earlier 27-metre vessels are subvariants of the 30-metre interceptors built by Indian shipyard Larsen and Toubro for the Indian Coast Guard.

Another two interceptors from the same series as the 16-metre vessels delivered earlier this month were handed over by India in January 2022.