The Customs Surveillance Service SVA Incorporates the Seized Patrol Boats “Torgo I” and “Torgo II”

Two patrol boats that were aboard the Liberian ship “Lila Mumbai” and were seized in August 2025 at the port of Ceuta, while en route to Benghazi, Libya, have become part of the Customs Surveillance Service renamed “Torgo I” (formerly “TBZ 14”) and “Torgo II” (formerly “TBZ 15”), respectively. One of them will have its base of operations in Vigo and the other in the Canary Islands.

The ship was carrying two patrol boats measuring 38 meters in length, two landing craft, and six smaller patrol boats, all built in a shipyard in Dubai, when it was intercepted crossing the Strait, amid suspicions that the patrol boats would have military use, which is prohibited under the UN arms and equipment embargo imposed on the North African country.

The sides of the vessels bear the initials TBZ, which according to investigations refer to the armed group Tariq Ben Zeyad, accused of committing war crimes and other offenses against International Law in Libya.

Photos: Daniel Ferro for puentedemando.com