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A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine ("blue water"), estuarine ("green water"), or river ("brown water") environments.
Per their name, patrol boats are primarily used to patrol a country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but they may also be used in other roles, such as anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fishery patrols, immigration law enforcement, or search and rescue. Depending on the size, organization, and capabilities of a nation's armed forces, the importance of patrol boats may range from minor support vessels that are part of a coast guard, to flagships that make up a majority of a navy's fleet. Their small size and relatively low cost make them one of the most common naval vessels in the world.
The classification of a patrol boat is often subjective, but they are generally small naval vessels that are used to patrol national waters or a certain jurisdiction. They may be as large as a corvette or even a frigate, though the term may also be used for vessels as small as a yacht or rigid inflatable boat. They can include fast attack craft, torpedo boats, and missile boats. They may be broadly classified as inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) or offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). OPVs and medium size cutters are usually the smallest ship in a navy's fleet that are large and seaworthy enough to patrol off-shore in the open ocean, while IPVs are typically too small to do so and are instead kept in lakes or rivers, or close to coasts; IPVs specifically used in rivers can also be called "riverine patrol vessels". Large patrol vessels, Heavy patrol vessels and Large cutters are the largest type of patrol ships and are typically more than 100 m (330 ft) in length.
Seagoing patrol boats are typically around 30 m (100 ft) in length and usually carry a single medium caliber artillery gun as main armament, and a variety of lighter secondary armament such as machine guns, while others include the sophisticated close-in weapon system. Depending on their role, vessels in this class may also have more sophisticated sensors and fire control systems that would enable them to carry torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and surface-to-air missiles. [1]
During both World Wars, in order to rapidly build up numbers, all sides created auxiliary patrol boats by arming motorboats and seagoing fishing trawlers with machine guns and obsolete naval weapons. Some modern patrol vessels are still based on fishing and leisure boats.
The United States Navy operated the Pegasus class of armed hydrofoils for years in a patrol boat role. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy ordered 193 aluminum hulled Patrol Craft, Fast (PCFs), [2] also known as Swiftboats, for brown water naval operations. The Patrol Boat, River (PBR, sometimes called "Riverine" and "Pibber") was a fiberglass hulled vessel also designed and used for inland river operations during the Vietnam War, and became an icon of water operations during the war due to its use in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now .
Most modern designs are powered by gas turbine arrangements such as CODAG, and speeds are generally in the 25–30 knots (46–56 km/h; 29–35 mph) range. The largest OPVs might also have a flight deck and helicopter embarked. In times of crisis or war, these vessels are expected to support the larger vessels in a navy, though some smaller navies are mostly composed of just patrol boats.
35m Fast Patrol Vessels- USA -built by Swiftships, Commissioned in 2021 [4]
The Bangladesh Navy classified its medium size patrol ships as large patrol craft (LPC) which are armed with either anti-ship missiles or torpedoes. Those ships typically have heavier armaments but less range than OPVs. [5] [6]
35m Fast Patrol Vessels- USA -built by Swiftships, during the period 2010–2014 [15]
List of Irish Naval Service vessels; [16]
Additionally, the Royal Swedish Navy also operates smaller types of patrol boats (Swedish: bevakningsbåt = "guard boat"):
The Swedish Coast Guard operate an additional 22 patrol vessels for maritime surveillance.
The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force.
The Naval Service is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork.
The Croatian Navy is a branch of the Croatian Armed Forces. It was formed in 1991 from what Croatian forces managed to capture from the Yugoslav Navy during the breakup of Yugoslavia and Croatian War of Independence. In addition to mobile coastal missile launchers, today it operates 30 vessels, divided into the Navy Flotilla for traditional naval duties, and the Croatian Coast Guard. Five missile boats form the Croatian fleet's main offensive capability.
The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands.
The Protector-class offshore patrol vessel is a ship class of two offshore patrol vessel (OPVs) operated by the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) since 2010. The ships are named HMNZS Otago and HMNZS Wellington.
The Lake-class inshore patrol vessel is a ship class of inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) of the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) which replaced the RNZN's Moa-class patrol boats in 2007–2008. All four vessels were originally named after New Zealand lakes. Two of the ships were sold to Ireland in 2022.
Project Protector was a Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) procurement project that was undertaken during the 2000s. At the start of the decade, the New Zealand government tasked the New Zealand Defence Force to develop an equal combat, peacekeeping, and disaster relief capability, in which the RNZN was to focus on conducting sealift operations and patrols of the Economic Exclusion Zone. A series of reviews found that the RNZN was lacking in these capabilities, and Project Protector was established to acquire three new ship types: a single multi-role sealift ship, two offshore patrol vessels, and four inshore patrol vessels. After a two-year information-gathering and tender process, an Australian company, Tenix Defence, was selected as the primary contractor.
The Warrior-class strike craft are in service with the South African Navy, with the design being a modified Sa'ar 4 (Reshef)-class fast attack craft. The class was initially known as the Minister class as all the boats were named after South African Ministers of Defence, before being renamed Warrior-class after 1994. The strike craft flotilla was known as SAS Scorpion.
The Rani Abbakka-class patrol vessel are a series of inshore patrol vessels being built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd. for the Indian Coast Guard. They are based on Australian Thornycroft design. The ship, incidentally, is named after Abbakka Mahadevi, the legendary queen of Tulunadu, Karnataka who fought the Portuguese in the latter half of the 16th Century.
The Falaj 2 class are patrol boats of the United Arab Emirates Navy classified as stealth inshore patrol vessels (IPVs).
The Samarth-class offshore patrol vessel are a series of eleven offshore patrol vessels being built by Goa Shipyard Limited for the Indian Coast Guard. The construction of Samarth class was motivated by a desire to triple the Coast Guard assets in the aftermath of 2008 Mumbai attacks. They are an improvement over the earlier Sankalp class, with a larger beam and more powerful engines. The ships are being constructed in two batches—a batch of six ordered in May 2012 that was completed in December 2017 and a follow-on batch of five ordered in August 2016.
The Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta is the naval component of the Maltese military. The Maritime Squadron has responsibility for the security of Maltese territorial waters, maritime surveillance and law enforcement, as well as search and rescue. It is based at Hay Wharf in Floriana.
Coast Guard Goal 2030 is a planned modernization program for the Bangladesh Coast Guard. The goal includes increasing manpower, purchasing more ships, hovercraft, helicopters, UAVs, maritime patrol aircraft and adding new generation surveillance technologies. The vision of the goal is for the Bangladesh Coast Guard to be a technologically advanced two-dimensional force that is capable of protecting the coastal area of Bangladesh well. Additionally, it will assist the Bangladesh Navy in case of any national emergency.
The Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada(English: Navy Shipyards and Armories), better known by the acronym ASMAR, is a Chilean state-owned shipbuilding company with autonomous administration, which provides services to the Chilean Navy, mainly, and also to other domestic and foreign customers. Its predecessor was Arsenales de Marina, created in 1895, until it was restructured and adopted its current name on April 6, 1960.
The Musytari class is a class of two offshore patrol vessels of the Royal Malaysian Navy in service from 1980s to 2006. They were then handed over to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency / Malaysia Coast Guard in June 2006, renamed and known as the Langkawi class.
Ares Shipyard is a Turkish shipyard established in Antalya, southern Turkey in 2006. It builds fast patrol boats for the defence and law enforcement missions. This Shipyard Made World Class 'Ares-150 Hercules' OPV. Whice was awarded World's best Offshore patrol Ship By An International Maritime Organisation In 2018
The SMASH is a type of remote controlled weapon station manufactured by Aselsan of Turkey. The system is fitted with 30mm Mk44 Bushmaster II auto-cannon.
The Warrior-class inshore patrol vessel is a class of multi-mission inshore patrol vessels (MMIPVs) built for the South African Navy, and are intended to replace the Warrior-class OPVs between 2022 and 2024. All three vessels are named after historical South African 'warriors' who had a significant impact on the development of the country.
The first-of-class Amazonas was constructed at BAE Systems' Portsmouth facility.
We are supplying three Ocean Patrol Vessels and ancillary support services to the Brazilian Navy, as well as a manufacturing licence to enable further vessels of the same class to be constructed in Brazil. P120 Amazonas, P121 Apa and P122 Araguari