Uruguayan Navy still analyzing whether to accept two German rescue boats

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The National Navy of Uruguay has not yet decided on whether or not it will accept the transfer of two rescue boats similar to those acquired, in 2018, from the German civilian rescue partnership DGzRS.

According to sources of the naval force consulted by InfoDefensa, the procedure is not yet closed, and the convenience or not of the reception of these vessels is being analyzed.

The process, which was originally initiated by one of the Navy’s admirals, had not been properly communicated to the higher military command, so the latter lacked exact information on acquisition modalities and costs related to the transfer, which caused delays in the evaluation of the convenience or otherwise of the deal.

Although currently, an agreement has been reached so that the sale cost would be merely €1 (US$1.1), the issue of the transfer costs, which would amount to US$600,000, has not yet been closed.

Although it has been reported that there would be an option of free transfer managed by an Uruguayan politician, this has not yet been fully confirmed.

VESSELS FOR CIVILIAN USE

Beyond all this, the Navy is analyzing the conditions that would be imposed on the use of these vessels since, if they are limited only to rescue functions such as the previous ones, the Navy would not be interested in their acquisition since more units of exclusively civilian use would be added to a military force.

The two German rescue boats currently in use by the Navy cannot possess organic armament or perform functions beyond search and rescue, a condition set by the seller at the time of their transfer.

If these limitations are maintained, the Navy would prefer these ships go to ADES, an Uruguayan civilian rescue association with the same characteristics as DGzRS from Germany.

With information from InfoDefensa