Maritime Security Vessel News Roundup | March 2 – UK Royal Navy dive boats, patrol craft for Middle East operators and more

Deliveries include dive boats for the UK Royal Navy and fast interceptors for the Royal Saudi Naval Forces. A California harbour operator welcomes a rebuilt patrol vessel to its fleet and a future Ukrainian gunboat starts sea trials. The US Navy names a future fast transport and an attack submarine. Finally, a UAE government agency places orders for locally built enforcement and rescue craft.

UK builder completes dive boat deliveries to Royal Navy

Atlas Elektronik UK has delivered the final one of six 15-metre dive boats in a series ordered by the Royal Navy for operation by its Diving and Threat Exploitation Group.

The dive boats are variants of a class of officer training boats that were also built by Atlas Elektronik UK for the navy.

The six dive boats were delivered over a five-year period. They will replace older workboats that have been in operation since the 1990s.

Refurbished harbour patrol boat to serve Morro Bay, California

The Morro Bay Harbor Department, a maritime law enforcement and emergency response agency that serves the city of Morro Bay in central California, has placed a recently acquired and upgraded patrol boat into service.

The vessel underwent a two-year modernisation period at the facilities of D. R. Radon Boat Building in Goleta, California. Upgrades include new diesel engines, a new electronics suite, and firefighting equipment.

The refurbished boat will operate under the name Harbor Patrol 3869.

Final interceptors in series handed over to Saudi defence ministry

Saudi shipbuilder Zamil Shipyards and French defence contractor the CMN Group have delivered the final batch of 39 interceptor boats in a series ordered by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Defence.

The 32-metre vessels will be operated by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces on missions including counter-piracy patrols, anti-illegal immigration patrols, convoy escort, strike, and search and rescue.

Each interceptor will be crewed by 12 personnel and will have a top speed of 43 knots. A cruising speed of 12 knots will yield a range of 800 nautical miles.

US Navy’s newest expeditionary fast transport formally named

The US Navy and shipbuilder Austal USA recently held a christening ceremony for the future USNS Cody, the navy’s newest Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF).

The EPF is the fourteenth in the Spearhead-class as well as the first US Navy vessel to be named in honour of the city of Cody, Wyoming.

The future Cody is a Flight II variant of the Spearhead-class transports. The main distinguishing attributes of the Flight II EPFs will be their enhanced medical capabilities, which will enable them to operate as high-speed vessels to complement the navy’s larger hospital ships.

Future Ukrainian Navy gunboat begins builder’s sea trials

Ukrainian shipyard Kuznia na Rybalskomu has begun conducting builder’s sea trials of a new Project 58155 gunboat ordered by the Ukrainian Navy.

The eighth and final Gyurza-M-class gunboat is scheduled for delivery within the year. It will be used primarily for riverine operations.

The delivery of the gunboat is being expedited following the loss of four of its sisters during the ongoing war with Russia.

US Navy submarine to honour former Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has confirmed that a future US Navy Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine will be named USS John H Dalton.

John Howard Dalton, the submarine’s namesake, was the 70th Secretary of the Navy and a former US Navy submarine-qualified officer.

Once in service, the submarine will operate in littoral and deep waters while conducting anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), irregular warfare, and mine warfare missions. Armament will include torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

UAE operator orders locally built fast patrol boats

The UAE government’s Critical Infrastructure and Coastal Protection Authority (CICPA) has awarded Abu Dhabi Ship Building a contract for the construction of new fast past patrol boats.

The order includes boats from two different series designed for both coastal and deeper offshore waters. Missions will include patrol, interception, and search and rescue.

The contract has a value of approximately AED175 million (US$47.6 million).