VT to build OPV

The UK?s Ministry of Defence has awarded a £30 million contract to the Portsmouth-based VT Group for the construction of a new Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). This OPV will patrol waters round the Falkland Islands and is being acquired under an innovative charter and logistic support contract.

Scheduled to enter service in 2007, the new 1,850 tonne displacement vessel will be the first warship to be launched at Portsmouth since the frigate HMS Andromeda in 1967. The new ship will replace the two Castle Class ships currently employed in the Falkland Island role. Unlike the Castle Class ships, which have to return to the UK every three years for major repairs, the new OPV’s greater reliability and more modern design means she will be able to remain in the South Atlantic until 2012 and will save the taxpayer £2 million in support costs over a seven year period.

The new OPV will have a crew of 34 compared with 51 for the current ships and be armed with a single 30mm gun. She will carry out patrol duties around the Falklands and their dependencies, and is able to accommodate a single helicopter up to Merlin size.