The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) sought to clarify statements made by Chief of Defence Staff Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel during a Ministry of National Security press conference on Sunday.
Daniel said, “To give you an indication, after 1,000 hours of running on what you call an outboard engine, go fast interceptors, we have to do maintenance. That 1,000 hours with a private owned vessel takes about a year. We do that in eight days so I am just showing you, the difficulty to have these assets continually maintained and operational.”
However, on Wednesday, the TTDF in a media release stated, “The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force wishes to acknowledge the inaccuracy of the statement made during the Ministry National Security press conference on Sunday 2 May 2021, which highlighted the number of operational running hours achieved before an outboard engine has to be maintained.
The maritime interceptor assets of the Coast Guard are taken out of service for routine maintenance upon completion of 100 hours of operational running time which is routinely accomplished within eight days based on the continuous operational tempo.”
The TTDF stated that Coast Guard maritime assets required continuous maintenance to ensure maximum capabilities to provide safety and security of the nation’s borders and also thanked the public for continued support and understanding and encouraged further collaboration to improve the protection of the maritime domain.
