NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Government of The Bahamas and the United States Government, through the U.S. Embassy in Nassau and the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Thursday (February 8) launched Operation ‘Enduring Friendship’ which is designed to enhance bilateral security by supporting water-based policing in selected nations.
‘Enduring Friendship’ is a maritime security strategy designed to promote and increase the capabilities of Partner-Nations against illicit activities. The Bahamas was one of four countries selected to initially launch the program.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, the Hon. Cynthia Pratt said ‘Enduring Friendship’ was borne out of the recognition that illegal drugs and illegal immigrants from the south are traversing the country’s vast marine expanse and that coupled with the concern for terrorism, The Bahamas and the United States recognize that security vulnerability in The Bahamas is security vulnerability for the United States of America.
“Our goal is to eliminate drug trafficking within The Bahamas, period, but we must be able to protect our borders a little bit better than we are doing now and through the provision of the assets (that are a part of the program) and with the assistance of the United States of America, certainly we will be able to execute more effectively,” Deputy Prime Minister Pratt said.
“This program reflects our deep, mutual respect for each other and our firm recognition of our shared interests in maritime security,” she added.
Under the guidelines of ‘Enduring Friendship’, the United States will provide The Bahamas with four, 43-foot Interceptor Nor-Tech boats designed for speed and maneuverability in the ocean and shallow water. The value per boat is $450,000.
The United States will also provide 300 hours of preventative maintenance repair support per vessel; crew training for 12-15 personnel at the SOUTHCOM facility for a 60-day period; four boat trailers and two Ford F450 (or similar) Super Duty pick-ups to pull the trailers.
Additionally, the U.S. will provide four Jetdock Boat Docks; Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) systems for the boats; technical support; general support to the Joint Anti-Smuggling Unit (JASU), including supplies and equipment and communication equipment such as servers, thin-client systems, installation, integration and maintenance.
The total value of ‘Enduring Friendship’ is approximately $3.2million, plus ongoing technical support.
US Ambassador His Excellency John Rood said ‘Enduring Friendship’ will continue the “excellent ties” between The Bahamas and the United States and will reflect the two countries “shared interests in maritime security.”
Ambassador Rood said the two countries have worked closely in the law enforcement arena “and that law enforcement cooperation between the two nations “is second to none” around the world.
“Our OpBat program is so critical to The Bahamas, to the United States and we are neighbors and this is what neighbors do, they help each other,” Ambassador Rood said. “The Bahamas has helped us on numerous occasions and we in turn are here to help The Bahamas when we are able to.
“So we just look at which countries are strategic, which countries can benefit from this type of program and The Bahamas was a perfect fit,” he added.
Ambassador Rood said ‘Enduring Friendship’ will complement the work of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, whether that work is search and rescue, intercepting illegal poachers, illegal migration or illegal drug trafficking.
He said the program will build not only on the success of the OpBat program, but on the numerous other programs The Bahamas and United States have worked together in order to develop cooperation among neighboring nations.
“One of the keys is going to be for these countries to learn to work together, to communicate together to be able to – if there is migrant traffickers that are intercepted and they veer off towards the Dominican Republic, the working relationships developed through this program and the communication capabilities will allow the Bahamian Defense Force to contact their counterparts in the Dominican Republic so that the individuals cannot flee.
“And that’s one of they key components of this program, cooperation and communication between the countries that are part of the program,” Ambassador Rood added.
He said the Interceptor boats were designed to operate in relatively heavy seas but also have shallow enough drafts that they can go into the coves and shallow waters of The Bahamas. The boats are currently being built in Florida. He said timeframes for delivery are “through this year and the beginning of next year.”
“These are well-built boats designed to take a lot of hammering, a lot of tough use,” Ambassador Rood said. “As you know, if you are chasing somebody at a high speed in relatively high seas, those boats take a beating and so they are designed to take that beating and everything on it is designed for minimum maintenance and long term durability.”
