The Nigerian Navy recently received several rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) from the United Arab Emirates’ ASIS Boats, and is using them from Nigerian Navy ships.
In mid-2022 it emerged that ASIS Boats was preparing to deliver four RHIBs to Nigeria, and last month ASIS Boats announced that these had been supplied in response to a Nigerian requirement for boats that could be carried and deployed by its naval ships.
The boats, which reached their destination on 24 August, will support a variety of missions, including anti-terrorism, search and rescue, vessel boarding search and seizure, and maritime interdiction operations.
One of the supplied RHIBs is featuring ASIS’s GRP air-hull, a patented GRP hull design, and is 6.5 metres long, while the other three are aluminium-hulled boats 7.6 metres in length and configured with a walk-around double Futura Console with a forward seat; four straddle seats; and capacity for up to eight passengers. Twin 150 hp outboard engines give a top speed of 86 km/h.