A ceremony for the release of the 5th Ukrainian crew of Island-class patrol boats took place in Baltimore. The training of sailors lasted six weeks.
The graduation ceremony was attended by Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova, Deputy Assistant Commander of the US Coast Guard James Knight and other dignitaries.
Before being sent to the United States, the crew underwent special training at the Odessa Naval Lyceum named after Vice Admiral Vladimir Beskorovainy. Senior Lieutenant Sergei Tukmachev has been appointed commander of the new patrol boat. The boat's combat control officer is Lieutenant Ilya Petrash, one of the cadets of the Naval Lyceum in Sevastopol, who in 2014 refused to raise the Russian flag over the captured educational institution.
The first two "Islands" arrived in Odessa in the fall of 2019. Three more should replenish the Ukrainian Navy by the end of 2021.
