SAO PAULO, Brazil - Brazilian state-owned naval project management company, Emgepron, will unveil the first indigenously designed offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the Brazilian Navy at Euronaval 2014. The exhibition will be held in Paris at the end of this month.
The vessel, or Navio-Patrulha Oceânico BRasil (NaPaOc-BR), or BR-OPV, has been designed and developed by the Brazilian Navy's Ships Project Center. It will be tasked with carrying out surveillance duties in Brazil's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as protecting offshore oil platforms, performing search-and-rescue operations, and combating illegal activities at sea.
The NaPaOc-BR has a displacement of 2,000 tons and can carry a crew of up to 125 men. The vessel measures 103.4 meters long by 11.4 meters wide and has a maximum speed of 25 knots. The ship can remain at sea for up to 30 days and has a range of 4,000 nautical miles while maintaining a speed of 12 knots.
The vessel has a combined diesel and diesel (CODAD) propulsion system, a flight deck and hangar for one light-to-medium sized helicopter, and can deploy rigid hull inflatable boats (RIHB). The armament includes a medium caliber turret-mounted gun and two side-mounted 20mm guns. The vessel can also carry a 40, 57, or 76 mm weapon as its main gun. The main gun has yet to be selected.
The NaPaOc-BR has been developed under the Navy's Plan for the Organization and Equipment of the Navy (PAEMB). PAEMB is broken into two programs: PROSUPER and PROSUB. PROSUPER is the priority program and calls for the construction of five 6,000-ton frigates, five 1,800-ton offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), and one support vessel.
Brazil has already acquired three Amazonas-class OPVs from BAE Systems Surface Ships. Two more OPVs will be built locally. Although Brazil has acquired the technology to construct additional Amazonas-class vessels, this may not be the selected design. BAE Systems, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine, Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding, DCNS, Fincantieri, Navantia, and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems have all submitted proposals for the new OPV design.
The Navy may require an additional seven OPVs in the future.
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