SEAPOWER INTERNATIONALAzerbaijani Coast Guard
Orders 12 Patrol Vessels
The Azerbaijani Coast Guard
(ACG) has ordered 12 patrol ves-
sels from Israel Ship yards. The
order included six SAAR 62 patrol
boats and six Shal dag Mk V patrol
craft. All of the vessels will be built
at Israel Shipyards in Haifa.
Assuming construction begin by
midyear, the first units of the Shaldag
Mk V class could begin being deliv-
ered by 2017 with all in service by
- The ACG variant is expected to
be similar to the Israeli Shaldag Mk
IIs, being powered by two Tognum
MTU diesel engines and two Rolls
Royce Kamewa waterjets. They will
have a top speed of 50 knots and be
armed with one Rafael Armament
Development Authority Typhoon
25mm gun (Bushmaster chain gun)
and two 12.7mm machine guns.
The first OPV 62 patrol boat unit
is expected to be delivered in 2017 as
well, with all six entering service by - The OPV 62 is based on the
SAAR 4.5 missile corvette design. It
is 62 meters (203.4 feet) in length
with a displacement of around 450
tons. It will be powered by four Tog -
num MTU diesel engines for a top
speed of 30 knots. It is expected to
be armed with one 30mm gun and
two 12.7mm machine guns.
Sources also indicate that the
Azerbaijani Navy is considering the
Israel Shipyards 72-meter corvette
design for its three hull require-
ment in addition to other prospec-
tive suppliers.
French Navy Procures
Patrol Boats for Guiana
The French Procurement Agency
has awarded a construction con-
tract to Socarenam for two 60-
meter (196.8 feet) patrol boats for
the French Navy. The patrol ves-
sels, known as Patrouilleurs Legers
Guyanais (Light Patrol Vessel for
Guiana, or PLG) were ordered forFrench-administered Guiana in
South America.
The vessels will be dedicated to
so ver eignty missions and to protect
French interests in the Antilles
(French West Indies) and Guiana
ma ri time areas including securing
the waters around the Guiana Space
Cen ter where the European Space
Agency and French Space Agency
con duct regular launches.
The first unit is to be delivered
by the end of 2016 and the second
by mid-2017. They will replace the
P-400-class patrol boats as the
Guiana station vessels.
Both patrol vessels will be armed
with one 20mm Narwhal Remote
Weapon Station. They will have a top
speed of 21 knots with an endurance
of 12 days at 12 knots. AMI International Inc., Bremerton, Wash.,
is an international consulting and naval
intelligence services company located on
the web at http://www.amiinter.com.W W W. S E A P O W E R M A G A Z I N E. O R G S E A P O W E R / A P R I L 2 0 1 5 77