VESSEL REVIEW | High-speed interceptor trio for Spain’s Guardia Civil

After months of work in the areas of design and development, Spanish yard Aister has delivered three new patrol boats to the Maritime Service of the Spanish Coast Guard (Servicio Marítimo de la Guardia Civil, SEMAR) for search operations and intervention in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, the south coast of the country and the Balearic Islands.

The three high-speed interceptor boats will be used by the provincial maritime services of Almeria, Murcia and the Balearic Islands to carry out surveillance missions and fight against irregular immigration.

After carrying out the official sea trials in the Vigo Estuary, the patrol boats responded very well under different sea conditions, including a range of wave heights.

The model Aister has developed was designed and built for high-speed chases, offering its occupants maximum reliability, safety and maneuverability.

The work carried out by Aister’s design and production teams has allowed these high-speed vessels to present notable improvements with respect to the vessels currently in the Maritime Service (SEMAR), as they can reach higher speeds and perform more complex manoeuvres with greater stability.

They are also more efficient than the current ones as they manage to significantly reduce fuel consumption.

The patrol boats, 10.50 metres length and with a beam of three metres, have aluminium hulls, are certified by Lloyd’s Register, and reach a maximum speed of over 50 knots, maintaining stable and predictable handling at all times.

For propulsion they each have two 350hp (260kW) Mercury Verado outboard engines and are fitted for a range of more than 450 nautical miles at 30 knots and to operate with waves up to four metres high.

The design of the hull facilitates the start of rapid glide and optimal trimming in the pre-planing stage, which also allows for navigation with excellent visibility throughout the speed range, without having to rely on the help of additional elements such as flaps or interceptors.

In order to guarantee the operability and safety of the crew, the boats are equipped with a hard top open cabin where the steering position and navigation systems are located. The console was designed to ensure good ergonomics at high speeds and has jockey cushioned seats with Ullman Dynamics suspension.

The boats are also equipped with removable and detachable tanks and have side doors to facilitate access for divers.

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