GDFS ''Berbice'' is a 115 of the

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. The branches include the Army, Air F ...

. It was launched in 2023 shortly before the

2023 Guyana–Venezuela crisis 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

Ship history

Amid the renewed

Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute There is an ongoing territorial dispute between Guyana and Venezuela over the Essequibo region, also known as Esequibo or Guayana Esequiba in Spanish (), a area west of the Essequibo River. The territory, excluding the Venezuelan-controlled A ...

in the 2010s when

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

discovered offshore oil,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

increased its aggression towards its eastern neighbor. Concerns about Guyana's aging

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

, GDFS ''Essequibo'', were raised. In May 2021, Guyana used emergency funds to make a

down payment In accounting, a down payment (also called a deposit in British English) is an initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of expensive goods or services such as a car or a house. It is usually paid in cash or equivalent at the time of fin ...

to commence the construction of the GDFS ''Berbice'', citing the need to defend its

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

from Venezuela. On 4 August 2023, the ''Berbice'' was launched from the

Metal Shark Boats Metal Shark Boats is an American developer and builder of aluminum-hull vessels that operates shipyards in Jeanerette, Louisiana, Jeanerette and Franklin, Louisiana, Franklin, Louisiana. It offers a variety of vessels ranging from commercial transp ...

production factory in

Jeanerette, Louisiana Jeanerette () is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as "Sugar City", it had a population of 5,530 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, a decrease of 467 from the 2000 tabulation of 5,997. ...

. Months later on 30 October 2023, Metal Shark announced that the ship sailed to its shipyard in

Bayou La Batre, Alabama Bayou La Batre ( or ) is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Mobile metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,204, down from 2,558 at the 2010 census. Bayou La Batre is a fishing village wi ...

. The ''Berbice'' was incorporated into the Guyana Defence Force in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is ...

on 12 November 2023. Venezuelan media criticized the incorporation of the ship.

Specifications

The ''Berbice'' is long, has a range of at and can travel at a top speed of . It has a crew of twenty-four officers and sailors. It can also serve as a

mother ship A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...

for

rigid inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull bottom joined to side-forming air tubes that are ...

s (RIBs) that can be crewed by ten individuals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berbice 2023 ships Jeanerette, Louisiana Military of Guyana Patrol vessels Ships built in Louisiana