Navy Chief Luis Alberto Humeau Hidalgo said the Navy will offer technical advice to the Ministry of Industry of Commerce in its purchase of three ships to form a Dominican merchant marine. The ships will be used to transport Dominican produce throughout the Caribbean, taking advantage of the recently-signed free trade agreement. Rear Admiral Humeau said that the fleet would eventually be passed on to private business. He said the government will spend US$4 million for the ships, as reported by Diario Libre. A loan from a Spanish bank will finance the purchase. The ships will have a capacity of either 1,000 or 1,500 tonnage. Hoy newspaper reports that in March of this year, Humeau Hidalgo had announced the relaunching of the fishing industry with new boats to also be purchased by the government and a merchant marine fleet at a cost of US$20 million.
