Security Vessel News Roundup | December 4 – Australian heavy landing craft design, new amphibious ship for Qatar and more
Deliveries include an amphibious ship for a Middle Eastern navy, patrol boats for operators in China and Fiji, and surface warships for South Korea and the United States. Designs have been selected for future landing craft for the Australian military and surface combatants for Norway. Construction meanwhile continues on vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and the UK Royal Navy.
Qatari Emiri Navy takes delivery of new amphibious ship
The Qatari Emiri Navy took delivery of a new landing platform dock (LPD) from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in a ceremony at the latter's La Spezia facilities on Friday, November 29.
QENS Al Fulk has a length of 143 metres, a beam of 21.5 metres, and space for 550 crewmembers and other personnel. Smaller landing craft can be housed in and deployed from the LPD's spacious well deck while the large flight deck can accommodate NH90 multi-role helicopters.
The LPD will also be capable of performing humanitarian missions.
Chinese agriculture ministry welcomes fisheries patrol boat into service
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has taken delivery of a new high-speed fisheries enforcement vessel built by Beibu Gulf Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering Design.
Zhongguo Yuzheng 45903 ("China Fishery Administration 45903") will be operated by Agriculture and Rural Bureau of Qinnan District within the Guangxi autonomous region.
The vessel has all-aluminium construction, an LOA of 14.7 metres, a beam of 3.37 metres, a depth of 1.63 metres, and a design speed of 38 knots.
Construction begins on Royal Navy’s fifth Type 26 frigate
BAE Systems has begun construction on the fifth of a planned eight Type 26 or City-class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates ordered by the Royal Navy.
The future HMS Sheffield and its sisters will be built on the Clyde and are slated to replace the ASW-optimised examples of the Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates. Upon completion, each Type 26 ship will have a displacement of 8,000 tonnes, a CODLOG propulsion arrangement that will deliver speeds of over 26 knots, and a low-observable stealth hull form.
Republic of Korea Navy takes delivery of fourth Sejong the Great-class destroyer
The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) took delivery of a new guided-missile destroyer from local shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in a ceremony on Wednesday, November 27.
ROKS Jeongjo the Great, which was commissioned into ROKN service that same day, is the first unit of three ships under Batch II of the ROKN's KDX-III or Sejong the Great-class destroyers. This makes it the fourth vessel overall in the Sejong the Great-class.
Mercy Ships secures funding for third hospital ship
Global charity Mercy Ships has secured funding for the construction of its third hospital ship, which is scheduled to be handed over in 2028. Financial support for the construction has been provided by the charitable foundation of Switzerland-based container shipping company the MSC Group.
New patrol boat handed over to Republic of Fiji Navy
The Republic of Fiji Navy recently took delivery of a new Guardian-class patrol boat built by Western Australia-based defence shipbuilder Austal.
This is the third Guardian‑class patrol boat delivered to Fiji, and the 22nd vessel delivered by Australia under the Pacific Maritime Security Program.
Keel laid for future US Navy destroyer Sam Nunn
The keel for the future USS Sam Nunn, a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, was laid during a ceremony at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding facilities in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Friday, November 22.
The ship is named in honor of United States Senator Samuel Augustus Nunn Jr, who represented the state of Georigia and served as Chairman of both the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
Design selected for future Australian Defence Force heavy landing craft
The Australian government has selected its preferred design for the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Landing Craft Heavy (LCH), local naval shipbuilder Austal Australia confirmed on Monday, November 25.
Eight LCH vessels will be built by Austal at the Henderson Defence Precinct in Western Australia, subject to acceptable commercial negotiations and demonstrated performance.
US Navy commissions littoral combat ship Beloit
The US Navy commissioned its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship (LCS) in a ceremony in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Saturday, November 23.
USS Beloit is the 15th Freedom-variant LCS and 29th overall LCS to be built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine under the Lockheed Martin-led shipbuilding team. It is also the first US Navy ship named in honour of the city of Beloit, Wisconsin.
Future Canadian Coast Guard rescue boat hits the water
Quebec shipyard Chantier Naval Forillon (CNF) has floated out a new search and rescue (SAR) boat slated for the Canadian Coast Guard. The future CCGS Cascumpec Bay belongs to a series of 20 vessels built for the coast guard by CNF and Hike Metal Products of Ontario.
US warship design selected as contender for Norwegian frigate program
Norway's Ministry of Defence has selected the US Navy Constellation-class frigate design as one of the contenders in a program to acquire new warships for the Royal Norwegian Navy.
The Constellation-class frigates are being manufactured by Fincantieri Marinette Marine as variants of the European Multi-Mission Frigates (Fregate Europeenne Multimissions; FREMM) designed and built jointly by French defence shipbuilder the Naval Group and Italy's Fincantieri for their respective countries' navies as well as export customers. The ships will be capable of anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare, and information operations.
