''Captain Hugh Mulzac'' is a offshore patrol vessel of the

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard (abbreviated as the SVG Coast Guard) is the maritime security and search and rescue element of the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. It was founded on 2 December 1980, when eight ...

. Built for the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard as HMJS ''Middlesex'' in 2005, the vessel was purchased in 2019 by

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

. It operates in the

territorial waters The term territorial waters is sometimes used informally to refer to any area of water over which a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potent ...

of the island nation, performing

maritime security Maritime security is an umbrella term informed to classify issues in the maritime domain that are often related to national security, marine environment, economic development, and human security. This includes the world's oceans but also regiona ...

and search and rescue missions. It is the second ship to be named for Hugh Mulzac, a Vincentian native who was the first African-American commercial

ship captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

, commanding the in World War II.

Description

''Captain Hugh Mulzac'' is a offshore patrol vessel based on the Dutch Damen Stan Patrol 4207 boat. It has a length of , a beam of , and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . It has a maximum speed of and is capable of remaining at sea for 14 days with a maximum range of . It has a crew of 18 and can host 4 guests, and has advanced X-band radar systems.

History

The ship was built in

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

by the Damen Group and sold to

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

in November 2005. The vessel was one of three offshore patrol vessels operated by the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard, along with and . It was decommissioned from the JDF Coast Guard on 8 December 2017 and returned to the Damen Group as collateral in advance of the purchase of two new vessels of the same model. Damen modernized the returned ships, adding two 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine guns, one on the fore and aft. The

Nicaraguan Navy The Nicaraguan Navy, officially the Naval Force of the Nicaraguan Army, ( es, Fuerza Naval del Ejercito de Nicaragua) is the naval service branch of the Nicaraguan Armed Forces. The navy's mission is to ensure the defense and security of the is ...

then purchased the vessel along with another County-class ship, commissioning it as ''Soberanía I''. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines then purchased the vessel for EC$18 million ($6.7 million) in late 2018, receiving it in December 2018 after a period of maintenance and crew training. The ship was commissioned by Prime Minister

Ralph Gonsalves Ralph Everard Gonsalves (born 8 August 1946) is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).

as ''Captain Hugh Mulzac'' in

Kingstown Kingstown is the capital, chief port, and main commercial centre of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centr ...

, Saint Vincent, on 21 January 2019. On 10 April 2019, ''Captain Hugh Mulzac'' attended the burning vessel ''Gem Star'' in port at the Grenadines Wharf in Kingstown, assisting in water safety and firefighting alongside a Coast Guard

RHIB 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 i ...

and the tug ''Captain Bim''. By the end of the day, the fire subsided and ''Captain Hugh Mulzac'' retired from the scene.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Captain Hugh Mulzac Ships of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Military of Jamaica Patrol boats 2006 ships