Welcome to Maritime Security Week!

They keep coming. The daily dramas afflicting our unsettled world ensure a steady flow of launchings of new maritime security vessels. Everything from small USVs to aircraft carriers pour out of the world’s shipyards seemingly constantly. Many idiotic decisions, though, continue to be made by governments when they purchase ships. Massive amounts of money are forever being wasted.

Fortunately, in the coming week, we’ll be seeing a little more common sense than usual with multi-purpose craft being delivered. We will actually see ships delivered to countries with weak naval shipbuilding capacity by those with a distinct comparative advantage. They are rare sensible decisions.

An outstanding example of this is New Zealand’s purchase of a 173-metre naval “sustainment vessel” from Korea’s Hyundai Shipyard. There was no way such a ship could have been built in New Zealand, so the completely rational decision was made to purchase complete from a reputable foreign builder. Apparently, HMNZS Aotearoa was delivered on time and on budget.

Assault Craft • Interceptors • Patrol • Police • Coast Guard • Naval

It is tragic that countries like Australia and Canada continually fail to learn from the New Zealand experience. They have not learnt to distinguish between warfare and welfare. Their pathetic propping up of hopelessly uncompetitive and incompetent domestic shipyards, purely for perceived political advantage, does nothing for their defence capabilities while doing massive damage to their taxpayers. Australia’s ongoing support for its hopeless and hapless warship builder ASC and Canada’s ludicrous National Shipbuilding Strategy are equally damaging economically and in defence terms. It now appears that Canada may even follow Australia’s inexcusable and insane submarine purchasing decision.

Meanwhile, we’ll see some excellent examples of the development of multi-purpose vessels. At least, even Canada’s ridiculously expensive icebreaking patrol vessel, the 103-metre HMCS Harry Dewolf, is intended to be muti-role. Similarly, we have two very impressive multi-purpose patrol/rescue craft from Italian builders for Italian government departments. They are really worth examining very closely.

Finally, from embattled Taiwan comes an impressive wave-piercing catamaran “corvette” for the Taiwanese Coast Guard. It is the first, apparently, of twelve. These, too, will be multi-role and have a remarkable similarity to the fast missile-carrying catamaran assault ships of a closely neighbouring country.

Maritime security is a fascinating sector. Keep on top of it here on Baird Maritime this week.

Vessel Reviews:

• Harry DeWolf – Canada’s newest icebreaking ship to be deployed in Arctic waters
• Natale de Grazia – Italian Coast Guard takes delivery of 33m self-righting patrol and rescue vessel
• Anping & Chenggong – Versatile patrol catamarans for Taiwanese coast guard
• Lana – French-built research and patrol vessel for Nigerian Navy
• Tenente Petrucci – Fast patrol craft enters service with Italy’s financial police
• Aotearoa – Large supply tanker to support Royal New Zealand Navy’s deployed task forces
• Hydrograaf – Royal Netherlands Navy’s compact, high-endurance survey boat

News, Gear, and Book Reviews:

• Construction starts on new minehunters for Dutch, Belgian navies
• BOOK REVIEW | “Go Find Him and Bring Me Back His Hat”: The Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Campaign in the Falklands/Malvinas War
• Indonesian Navy commissions landing ship Teluk Youtefa
• Keel laid for new Russian Navy anti-saboteur boat
• Contract awarded for new Royal Navy support tenders
• Philippine Coast Guard rescues two from capsized fishing boat
• US Navy’s future Spearhead-class EPF to honour Point Loma, California
• US Navy christens fleet oiler John Lewis
• Modernisation completed on Royal Netherlands Navy survey ship
• Italian Coast Guard rescues boaters from burning launch in Tyrrhenian Sea
• Boat capsizing leaves two dead in southern Philippines
• US Coast Guard responds to boat fire near Carlsbad, California
• Royal Canadian Navy takes delivery of patrol ship Margaret Brooke
• Israeli Navy orders four more Shaldag patrol boats

Recent Important Features:

OPINION | How the US and Australia can be real partners in the Indo-Pacific grey zone

– “Without political and economic efforts, military progress won’t make much difference.”

– by Grant Newsham, Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies

COLUMN | Egypt: a rapidly emerging maritime power [Naval Gazing]

– “The prime catalyst for the Egyptian Navy’s growth has been the regional security situation, which includes unstable governments, territorial disputes, and terrorist activity.”

– by Trevor Hollingsbee, Baird Maritime‘s maritime security expert and columnist

Remember to come back every day to see the latest news, opinion and vessel reviews!

Call for content!

Any news or views about the global maritime security sectors? Send it through to [email protected] ASAP (between now and July 23), so we can add it to this current edition of Maritime Security Week!

We are after:

• Vessels – Orders, new deliveries, under construction
• Gear – Latest innovations and technology in the maritime security vessel sector
• Interviews – Owners, operators, water police, navies, coast guards etc.
• Reminiscences – Do you have any exciting, amusing or downright dangerous anecdotes from your time in the maritime security world? (example here)
• Other – Any other relevant news

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