The Armed Forces of São Tomé and Príncipe are the armed forces of the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, off the coast of West Africa. The islands' military consists of a small land and naval contingent, with a limited budget. Sitting adjacent to strategically important sea lane of communication in the Gulf of Guinea, due to recent concerns about regional security issues including security for oil tankers transiting the area, the US military and other foreign navies have increased their engagement with the FASTP, providing the country with assistance in the form of construction projects and training missions, as well as integration into international information and intelligence sharing programs.
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved with original construction, dockyards are sometimes more linked with maintenance and basing activities. The terms are routinely used interchangeably, in part because the evolution of dockyards and shipyards has often caused them to change or merge roles.
The Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defense of Portugal.
Fincantieri S.p.A. is an Italian shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. Already the largest shipbuilder in Europe, after the acquisition of Vard in 2013, Fincantieri group doubled in size to become the fourth largest in the world (2014). The company builds both commercial and military vessels.
Lürssen is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf.
STX Europe AS, formerly Aker Yards ASA, was until 2012 a subsidiary of the South Korean STX Offshore & Shipbuilding.
The Viana do Castelo class is a class of offshore patrol vessels planned by and for the Portuguese Navy, as a result of the NPO2000 Project, that are being constructed in the West Sea Shipyard.
The João Coutinho-class corvettes were a series of warships built for the Portuguese Navy for service in Portugal's African and Indian colonies. Initially rated as frigates, they were downgraded first to corvettes and then patrol vessels with age. They were designed in Portugal by naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira, but the urgent need of their services in the Portuguese Colonial War meant that the construction of the ships was assigned to foreign shipyards. Six ships were built; the first three ships were built by Blohm & Voss and the remaining three by Empresa Nacional Bazán. The ships were launched in 1970 and 1971. The relative cheap cost of the design led to it being the basis of several other classes in other navies. From 1970 until the end of the conflict in 1975, the corvettes were used for patrol and fire-support missions in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea and Cape Verde. After the African colonies gained their independence, the corvettes were assigned to patrol duties in Portuguese territorial waters.
The Baptista de Andrade class were a class of four Portuguese designed corvettes, built for the Portuguese Navy by BAZAN in Spain in the 1970s. They are an updated version of the João Coutinho class - designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira - with more modern armament and sensors.
Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo (ENVC) is a medium-sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal. Occupying an area of 400,000 square metres and employing 625 people, it is a major Portuguese shipbuilder. In 2013 its assets and operations are sub-licensed to Martifer.
Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels are warships of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) built within the Government of Canada Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship (AOPS) procurement project, part of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. In July 2007 the federal government announced plans for acquiring six to eight icebreaking warships for the RCN.
The Diciotti class is an Italian-designed offshore patrol vessel, presently in use with the Italian Coast Guard, Iraqi Navy, Armed Forces of Malta and Panama SENAN. These ships are designed and built by Fincantieri on the bay of La Spezia to Muggiano and Riva Trigoso shipyards.
The Guaicamacuto-class patrol boats is a class of offshore patrol vessels or BVL in Venezuelan Navy service for patrol duty in economic exclusive zone. A contract for four BVLs and four POVZEE was signed together on 25 November 2005. Since 2014 the Spanish Anticorruption Prosecutor's Office has been investigating the €42m "commission" paid to some of those involved.
The Centauro-class patrol boat is a series of four patrol boats in service with the Portuguese Navy. It is an evolution of the preceding Argos class. This class is meant for fisheries inspection and control duties mainly in the Mainland Portugal shores – with some sporadic presence in the Madeira Archipelago. The Centauro class is Portuguese-designed and built at the Arsenal do Alfeite (Almada) and Estaleiros Navais do Mondego.
In Portugal, the coast guard role is performed by several government agencies that, together, form the Maritime Authority System. The SAM includes the Portuguese Navy, the National Republican Guard (GNR), the Portuguese Air Force, the Border and Immigration Service (SEF), the Civil Protection Authority, the National Medical Emergency Institute and the Criminal Investigation Police (PJ).
The Vikram-class offshore patrol vessel is a series of seven offshore patrol vessels (OPV) being built at the Kattupalli shipyard by L&T Shipbuilding for the Indian Coast Guard. These are long range surface ships which are capable of coastal and offshore patrolling.
Arsenal do Alfeite, SA is a company with an area of 36 hectares of implantation included in the Lisbon Naval Base. It is mainly dedicated to satisfying the needs of shipbuilding, maintenance, modernization and repair of the Portuguese Navy, other NATO and commercial navies, using advanced technologies, namely in the areas of electronics, optronics, armament, mechanics and electrical engineering. Alfeite's arsenal has already built more than 150 boats. Arsenal do Alfeite has a close relationship with Royal Moroccan Navy, repairing and modernizing ships since 2012.
Thales Edisoft – Thales Edisoft Portugal, S.A. is a company of Thales Group that offers software development and engineering solutions, systems integration and technological consulting for critical systems in land, maritime, space or cyberspace for the defense and civil markets. Edisoft has currently partnerships with two portuguese shipbuilders, Arsenal do Alfeite and with West Sea Shipyard, the buider of Viana do Castelo-class patrol vessels.
T. Mariotti S.p.A. is an Italian shipbuilder based in Genoa, Italy. The company specializes in building small cruise ship - mainly focused on the luxury market, superyachts and offshore vessels. The company also does refits of ships and yachts. T. Mariotti employs roughly 1,000 people.
