VESSEL REVIEW | Gangwon 201 – New fisheries patrol boat to be deployed off South Korea's Gangwon province

A new patrol vessel has commenced operational sailings out of the South Korean province of Gangwon.

Gangwon 201 (강원 201) will be operated by the Gangwon Provincial Government. It will be used primarily for anti-illegal fishing patrols in shallow waters and is capable of rapid response under harsh conditions in line with operator requirements.

Fast and agile enforcement platform

The newbuild has a steel hull, length of 26.65 metres (87.43 feet), a maximum draught of only 2.3 metres (7.5 feet), and a displacement of 40 tons. The vessel’s design, combined with waterjet propulsion, supports shallow-water access while maintaining performance and manoeuvrability under a range of speed settings.

The vessel’s propulsion arrangement consists of a hybrid-electric configuration consisting of two MTU 8V2000M84L 895kW (1,200hp) engines driving Marine Jet Power (MJP) 500X waterjets. During sea trials, the waterjet propulsion demonstrated that it can enable the vessel to reach speeds of up to 19.5 knots.

MJP said the propulsion arrangement allows clean electric operation when patrolling harbours, cutting emissions while improving control.

The waterjets themselves each feature a cast aluminium reversing bucket and improved intake, thus offering significantly improved stopping power as well as more precise manoeuvring.

Multi-mission capability

The vessel’s electronics suite meanwhile includes a Furuno radar. A lightbar is also fitted on the wheelhouse roof.

Delivered in fulfilment of a KRW3.99 billion (US$2.9 million) investment, Gangwon 201 replaces a similarly named fisheries enforcement boat that was originally built in 1992. Its other duties will include safety patrols and maritime incident response.