Spain unveils new €35 million patrol ship to fight drug traffickers off the Costa del Sol – armed with underwater drones, heliport and 50-strong crew

DRUG smugglers on the Costa del Sol are facing a formidable new foe after Spain’s Guardia Civil launched a new €35 million patrol ship to hunt down narcos along the Mediterranean coast and beyond.

The state-of-the-art Duque de Ahumada – named after Francisco Javier Giron, the Duke of Ahumada and founder of the Guardia Civil – was unveiled by Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, at a ceremony in Vigo last week.

The advanced vessel, funded mostly by the European Union, will spend four months a year on missions with Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, with a focus on drug trafficking, illegal migration and environmental monitoring. 

READ MORE: Spanish police catch narcos dumping drugs into the Strait of Gibraltar and seize almost seven tonnes

“It is an example of European cooperation policy, which adds value, helps strengthen cohesion and, in this case, reinforces the protections of our borders – Spain’s borders, which are also the external borders of the European Union,” Grande-Marlaska said at a ceremony attended by the director-general of the Guardia Civil, Mercedes Gonzalez, and the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero.

The patrol ship features five decks, a heliport, two fast-response boats and an underwater drone capable of diving to a depth of one kilometre.

It can operate at sea for 30 successive days, cover over 11,000 miles, reach speeds of 18 knots and will become a new home for 44 officers and 12 support staff.

The 83-metre long vessel will join the Guardia Civil’s maritime force in Cadiz, replacing the Río Miño, following sea trials off Spain’s northern coast.

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