The two ships - Chase and Hamilton, regarded as high endurance warships, which had been in the service of the U.S. Coast Guard in the last 43 and 44 years respectively, were recently decommissioned - (stepped down) by the U.S. authorities in March and are now being donated to Nigeria, according to a spokesperson of the U.S. Coast Guard who spoke ahead of the event where the ownership would be transferred to Nigeria.
A team of Nigerian diplomats, Federal Government and military officials are already in Alameda, California at one of the bases of the U.S. Coast Guard service to receive the offer from the Americans. Led by the Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Prof. Ade Adefuye, the team includes the new Nigeria Defence Attache to the U.S. Navy Captain Adefemi Kayode.
According to Sondra Kay, a spokesperson of the U.S. Coast Guard Services, two separate events will take place today, one by 9 a.m. and the other by 2 p.m. where both ships would be handed over to Nigeria one after the other in California. According to Sondra Kay, the names Chase and Hamilton which the ships bear have now been dropped since Nigeria will now have to give the ships new names.
Both Chase and Hamilton are veterans of the US Coast Guard fleet and have been in service for 43 and 44 years and both ships have a wide capacity and weighing about 378 feet in length, according to the spokesperson.
Both ships were actively used by the US military during the Vietnam war and while Chase was engaged as surveillance ship when the US declared the war on terror after 2011, Hamilton has also been engaged on several missions including recently helping out in Haiti after the disaster of last year. According to the US Coast Guards Services, CGC Chase-(CGC meaning Coast Guards Cutter) "is designed as a "high endurance" cutter. Her crossing range of 9,600 miles at 20 knots, and 80 foot flight deck, capable of handling both Coast Guard and Navy helicopters, make the Chase an ideal platform for extended patrol missions. Besides, Chase's regular missions include "enforcement of all U.S. maritime laws and treaties, fisheries conservation, marine pollution response, defence readiness, and search and rescue. CGC Chase was one of the first naval vessels built with a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion plant."
It was added that Chase's engineering plant "includes two 3,500 horsepower diesel engines, and two 18,000 horsepower gas turbines, which can achieve a top speed of 28 knots. Two 13-foot diameter controllable pitch propellers, combined with a retractable and rotatable bow propulsion unit, give Chase high maneuverability."
When they were decommissioned in March, the Commandant of the US Coast Guards Services, Admiral Bob Papp commended both ships generously. In a statement from the US Coast Guards, Admiral Papp said Hamilton which is 44 years old, having been commissioned in 1967 was the first US military vessel to employ aircraft gas turbine engines combined with diesel engines.
According to him, its motto , "Always first", truly reflects the ship's history. For instance Papp said Hamilton was also the first US military vessel to arrive in Vietnam during the war. Last year, the ship sailed for 205 days and covered over 50,000 nautical miles according to Admiral Papp.
On the other hand Papp disclosed that Chase won the Navy Meritorious unit commendation and the Vietnam Service Medal. Commissioned in 1968, he said Chase had been part of "virtually everyone of the US Coast Guards challenging maritime missions. Chase's motto was "There is no work better than ours!" Valued at several millions of dollars both ships are said to be part of renewed US military assistance to Nigeria. For instance US news agency report yesterday cited a Pentagon counterterrorism training and equipment initiative known as the Section 1206 programme , which has funnelled aid to 53 countries including Nigeria.
Funding for that initiative has risen to $500 million in the Obama administration's request for fiscal year 2012, which starts October 1, and under the programme, Nigeria reportedly got maritime surveillance gear to monitor traffic in the Gulf of Guinea.
Also in 2003 and 2004, the US also gave several ships to the Nigerian military, but Chase and Hamilton are said to be some of the highest capacity ships donated to the Federal Government by the Americans.
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