On 21 December 2011, STX Finland Oy and the Finnish Border Guard signed an agreement on construction of a next generation offshore patrol vessel.
The vessel will be built at the STX Rauma shipyard and delivered to the customer in November 2013. The highly advanced vessel will be 96 metres long and 17 metres wide and will be capable of serving a large variety of functions. Construction of the vessel will bring over 400 man-years of labour to STX Rauma shipyard personnel and its supplier network. The domestic content of the project is estimated to be 90%.
The main duty of the offshore patrol vessel is to operate in open sea patrol. In addition to ensuring border safety and serving defence purposes, the vessel will be used for other functions such as prevention of environmental damage, search and rescue, and different underwater assignments.
The vessel will use the latest technologies and environmentally friendly innovations. She is equipped with machinery using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and marine diesel as fuel. The vessel is capable of operating in Baltic Sea ice conditions. The requirements of energy efficiency and safe operation of the vessel in different accident situations have been taken extensively into account in the design of this environmentally friendly vessel.
“ This order is very important for STX Finland and the Rauma shipyard. “The building of this ship offers us excellent opportunities for implementation and further development of environmentally friendly technologies,” says Timo Suistio, EVP & COO of STX Finland Oy and Director of STX Rauma Shipyard . “Ships built for the Finnish Border Guard and Navy are an important part of STX Finland’s continuous development and introduction of new technologies,” Suistio adds.
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World Maritime News Staff, December 21, 2011; Image: STX Europe