An artist's impression of one of 12 high-speed patrol boats that India is building for Vietnam

Work began this week near India’s Chennai City to build 12 high-speed patrol vessels for the Vietnam Border Guard.

The offshore vessels are built under a contract signed between the Vietnam Border Guard and Indian company Larsen & Toubro.

It was part of India’s $100-million line of credit extended to Vietnam during a trip to India in October 2014 by the then Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The ships are designed to serve the protection of maritime sovereignty, strengthen security and detect illegal activities like smuggling. They can also assist with search and rescue missions, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Made of aluminium alloy, they will be 35 meters long and able to reach a maximum speed of 35 knots. They will be armed with modern navigation, monitoring and defence equipment.

Five will be built at Larsen & Toubro’s Kattupalli shipyard in Chennai, Tamilnadu State, and the rest will be made at the Hong Ha Shipyard in Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong using Larsen & Toubro know-how and under its supervision.

The Indian firm will take full responsibility for the designs and technologies of all the 12 ships.

Vietnam and India established a strategic partnership in 2007.

At a ceremony held Wednesday to start the shipbuilding project, Major-General Hoang Dang Nhieu, Deputy Commander of the Vietnam Border Guard, said Vietnam and India were paying more attention to boosting collaboration between the two nations in different fields, and the shipbuilding project was an important part of it.

This high-speed patrol ship project will play a key role in strengthening the bilateral defence relations of Vietnam and India, officials of both sides said.

Retired Vice Admiral B Kannan, CEO of Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding, said Vietnam and India have a long-standing friendship and are currently promoting their cooperation in many fields, including national defence.