The FPB 98 is a French OCEA fast patrol boat family built around a 32 m aluminum hull for coast guard, maritime security, search-and-rescue, and sovereignty patrol missions. Ukraine ordered twenty FPB 98 MKI boats for its State Border Guard Service before the full-scale Russian invasion, and 2023 reporting documented at least eight French-built hulls dispatched toward the Black Sea during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.
France and Ukraine contracted for twenty FPB 98 MKI boats for the State Border Guard Service, and 2023 reporting documented two May hulls, a second two-boat August batch, and four more December boats moving through or toward Constanta for Ukraine during wartime Black Sea access constraints.
Role detailsThe FPB 98 is a maritime-security craft rather than a missile boat or heavy combatant. OCEA markets the class for territorial and deep-sea surveillance, vessel control, search and rescue, natural-resource protection, and sovereignty patrols, while Ukraine's order tied the boats to State Border Guard reinforcement in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
State Border Guard Service / Maritime Guard.
Public reporting documents two French-built boats shipped toward Constanta in May 2023, a second two-boat batch transiting the Bosphorus in August 2023, and four more boats reaching the Constanta route in December 2023.
Ukrainian and naval reporting describes optical-electronic surveillance systems and RIB/RHIB boats for border-guard inspection or reconnaissance teams.
Janes reported the first and second dispatched pairs as unarmed when observed aboard cargo vessels in 2023, while Ukrainian planning sources described weapons as part of the intended equipment package.
The Ukrainian boats are reported as FPB 98 MKI patrol vessels, a 32 m configuration within OCEA's broader FPB range.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| FPB 98 MKI | 32 m Ukrainian State Border Guard configuration | The Ukrainian contract covers twenty FPB 98 MKI boats, with five originally planned for local construction at Nibulon Shipyard in Mykolaiv. Sources: Naval News FPB 98 production |
France and Ukraine signed an intergovernmental agreement supporting Ukraine's maritime safety and security reinforcement program.
Sources: Naval News FPB 98 transit
OCEA and Ukraine's State Border Guard Service signed a EUR 136.5 million patrol-boat contract, with fifteen boats planned in France and five in Ukraine.
Sources: Naval News FPB 98 production
Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs reported ten FPB 98 MKI hulls in work at OCEA, five boats being fitted with systems and mechanisms, and one quarter of the order planned for Ukrainian construction using French technology.
Sources: Ukraine MIA FPB 98 construction
NIBULON said its shipbuilding yard and OCEA had signed an agreement to build five FPB 98 MKI patrol boats in Ukraine under the maritime safety and security project.
Sources: NIBULON FPB 98 agreement
OCEA launched BG201, the first Ukrainian FPB 98 MKI, at Les Sables d'Olonne.
Sources: Naval News FPB 98 launch
Janes and Naval News reported the merchant vessel Gaja carrying two FPB 98 MKI boats from Saint-Nazaire through the Bosphorus toward Constanta for Ukraine.
Sources: Janes FPB 98 dispatch, Naval News FPB 98 transit
Janes reported a second batch of two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats transiting northbound through the Bosphorus toward the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine; Ukraine's ambassador to France said two State Border Service vessels were delivered in August.
Sources: Janes FPB 98 second dispatch, LB.ua Omelchenko interview
Ukrainian Shipping Magazine reported four additional FPB 98 project boats for Ukraine's Maritime Guard, with the carrying vessel docking at Constanta after transiting the Bosphorus.
Sources: Ukrainian Shipping FPB 98 delivery
