On Tuesday, November 17, 2020, Brodosplit laid keels for new 543 and 544 coastal patrol vessels, the last two vessels contracted for the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia.
The vessels will be 43.16 meters in length and 8 meters in width, equipped with essential armor of all contemporary coastal guards, the 30-mm automatic gun, two manually operable 12.7-mm machine guns, and four portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
When President Zoran Milanović visited the shipyard last week, Tomislav Debeljak expressed his gratitude to him for supporting the Croatian industry and promoting it abroad. He also thanked the Government for finding a way to continue financing the project of coastal patrol vessels during the COVID crisis. “The ship is the most complex product that the Croatian industry can produce. The ships we make for export contain 70% of the domestic components. And, of the truly affordable price at which we build these Coast Guard ships, 45% of the amount is returned immediately or in the short term to the state budget,” said Tomislav Debeljak, President of the Board of Brodosplit.
The hull of coastal patrol vessels will be built of high-strength AH36steel, while the superstructure will be made of aluminum alloy. They are ensured unsinkability in the event of flooding two adjacent compartments in the hull (e.g.in the event of flooding of both engine rooms, the ship will not sink).
Brodosplit lays keels for two coastal patrol vessels
“We have finished the production of bow sections of the hull for coastal patrol vessels 541 and 542, the keels for which were laid at the beginning of September this year. The keels we lay today, for coastal patrol vessels 543 and 544, are a continuation of the project of building coastal patrol vessels for the Croatian Navy Coast Guard, which will put the Coast Guard neck and neck with the world's modern coast guards,” said Leonardo Martinović, director of the Coastal patrol vessel construction project.
Vessels are equipped with protection against nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) operation with a specialized system for NBC filtration ventilation and sealing of the vessel’s working and living spaces.
They will be equipped with a stern ramp and a 7.7-meter-long rigid hull sailing boat for 6 crew members with a propulsion diesel engine that allows speeds of up to 40 knots and a sailing autonomy of 60 NM.
The vessels accommodate 16 people with a sailing autonomy of 10 days. They are very capable of pursuit and achieve speeds of up to 29 knots, which are provided by the main engines of 2 x 2525 kW.
An additional feature is the optimization of the systems, making it possible to sail 1000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots with a single fuel tank. The optimized fuel consumption allows for very efficient use, resulting in significant savings compared to similar ships, due to innovative hull shape design and excellent sailing properties. The introduction of the coastal patrol vessel series will continue the modernization and development of new capabilities of the Croatian Navy.