INFOGRAPHICS OF COAST GUARD VESSELS #1: Greece, Turkey and Romania

Written by D-Mitch

With this new post I begin a new category of infographics of various coast guard vessels from around the world. These infographics aim to highlight the most important equipment of the vessels; I do not analyze the systems in depth as I do for the warships instead I provide some basic information mainly from Wikipedia (if else I provide the source) about the ships, their history and their capabilities.

1. Dost class offshore patrol vessels of the Turkish Coast Guard

Guven OPV. Photo: Combat Master

The CMS of Guven. Photo: Combat Master

The contract for the construction of four Dost class offshore patrol vessels at RMK Marine Shipyard was signed on 16 January 2007. These large ships were commissioned the period 2013-2014. The design of the these ships are based on the Sirio class offshore patrol vessels produced by Italian Fincantieri. With the commissioning of these ships, the Turkish Coast Guard is able to perform its duties mainly search and rescue in sea state 5 and higher. These ships are the first Turkish Coast Guard vessels that can support helicopter operations. (source: turkishnavy.net)

Dost class offshore patrol vessel of the Turkish Coast Guard. High resolution image here.

2. Stan Patrol 5509 offshore patrol vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard

HCG Gavdos OPV

Gavdos OPV. Photo: Krispen Atkinson

The newest vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard was commissioned just some days ago (maiden arrival at Piraeus Port on October 30). The contract was awarded to Scheepswerf Damen Gorinchem on April 23, 2014. The total cost amounted to 28.8 million euro and was mostly (75%) funded by the European Borders Fund. Currently the boat is unarmed, it is not known yet what armament will carry. According to Damen, the Sea Axe hull shape of the Stan Patrol guarantees the best seakeeping performance at high speeds. The long and slender Sea Axe hull offers exceptionally low resistance, delivering excellent fuel efficiency at all speeds. The combination of superior seakeeping and the position of the wheelhouse results in the highest possible level of operability. The Stan Patrol 5509 is the second largest boat in the Stan Patrol family but is faster than the slightly larger Satn Patrol 6011 (60m, 22kts). (source: damen.com)

Stan Patrol 5509 offshore patrol vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard. High resolution image here.

3. Sa'ar 4 class offshore patrol vessels of the Hellenic Coast Guard

HCG Fournoi OPV

HCG Agios Eftratios OPV

The three Sa'ar class vessels are the most heavily armed boats in service with the Hellenic Coast Guard. The ships are based on the former Sa'ar 4 fast attack craft of the Israeli Navy (three boats of the class serve with the Chilean Navy and two with Sri-Lanka Navy). The contract for the procurement of the ships was signed on November 11, 2002. This was the first Israeli naval sale to a European Union country. The first two ships, Fournoi and Ro, were built in Israel by the Israel Shipyards Ltd and they were delivered in December 2003 and March 2004, respectively. The third vessel, Agios Efstratios, was built in Greece by the Hellenic Shipyards S.A and was delivered in June of 2004. (source: hellarmforces2010.blogspot.gr)

Sa'ar 4 class offshore patrol vessel of the Hellenic Coast Guard. High resolution image here.

4. Damen 950 (or else 6610) offshore patrol vessel of the Romanian Coast Guard

Stefan cel Mare OPV

Stefan cel Mare OPV

The Romanian Border Police inaugurated its OPV 6610, the Stefan cel Mare (MAI 1105), in Constanta on September 22, 2010. The procurement was funded by the European Union in order to strengthen the Border Police force of Romania. This prestigious project, which was made possible through Schengen funding, started with the signing of the newbuild contract on January 12, 2009. The building period that Damen was given was to a very tight deadline to comply with the Funding Memorandum; just 20 months and 19 days. This is the largest ship that Damen has built for a coast guard with the exception of course of the naval vessels. The new vessel was intended as a replacement for another vessel within the existing fleet and it had to be able to perform for the current Romanian borders and for future EU borders. Today, the Stefan cel Mare is the largest and most sophisticated vessel in the Romanian Border Police/Coast Guard fleet and patrols Romania’s Black Sea waters from her home port in Constanta. The very deep and high straight bow gives the axe bow hull a very soft suspension and reduced drag, resulting in an 18% reduction in fuel bill compared to conventional high speed designs. Rather than bouncing over waves, the Sea Axe design cuts through them, limiting speed degradation due to wind and waves. The vessel’s technical and operational characteristics enable it to execute long-term missions, receive and transmit information to the command centre and to other intervention vessels. Therefore, the vessel is used during specific EU external borders surveillance operations that are organized by the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union. (sources: damen.com, marineengineering.ro)
 

Damen 950 (6610) offshore patrol vessel of the Romanian Coast Guard. High resolution image here.