The Portuguese Council of Ministers has given the green light to modernize its fleet of ocean patrol vessels. The Portuguese Navy will have half a dozen new Viana do Castelo class ships, of which it already has four units. It is one of the projects contemplated in the 2019 Military Programming Law, “where the necessary funds for public investment in Defense and Armed Forces are collected,” according to the note issued by the country’s Ministry of Defense on this authorization.
The acquisition of six new OPVs, as this type of vessel is known by its acronym in English, will strengthen the patrol and inspection operations of the Portuguese Navy, “guaranteeing the control of maritime spaces under national sovereignty and jurisdictions and the fulfillment of commitments assumed by the Portuguese State, within the framework of the safeguarding of human life in search and rescue at sea ”.
The official note also highlights the dual use for which these boats are designed, capable of also developing civil missions, in collaboration with different national and European authorities, for example, such as fisheries inspection and the fight against maritime pollution and illegal activities such as drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and human or arms trafficking.
The construction of the new ships, estimated at a maximum of 352 million euros, will be in charge of the company Portugal Defense, SA
The delivery of the first ship will foreseeably take place at the end of 2023, and the remaining five will be supplied on a “phased and annual” basis.