The Iraqi Navy has received the first Italian-made patrol ship of the four it has ordered, aiming to fulfil the set goal for a threefold increase in its naval forces.

The Fatah, a Saettia mk4-class fast patrol ship will undergo search-and-rescue missions and will patrol country’s economic zone.

The 54m-long offshore patrol vessel weighing 390t can sail at a speed of 23kt, carrying 38 crew members.

Navy officials said that the ship was escorted by Italian, American and British warships during its voyage in Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the pirate-filled waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz.

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