Britain Launches New Offshore Patrol Boat Program

Sea Power, Mar 2004

Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans a new class of offshore patrol vessels to replace two Castle-class vessels that the Royal Navy rotates to the Falkland Islands for patrol duty. The MoD may lease two offshore patrol vessels as opposed to purchasing them. According to British government, the MoD believes that a lease of one or two new offshore patrol vessels will provide the same capability as the HMS Leeds and HMS Dumbarton, which have been in service since 1981 and 1982, at a lower life-cycle cost.

Requirements developed by the minor warships auxiliaries and boats integrated project team state that the "replacement warship(s) should be operationally versatile and capable of worldwide deployment, in all weather conditions, in order to conduct maritime patrol, fishery protection duties and related military tasks."

Tenders for the new vessels will be due by April, with a construction contract award expected by the end of the year. Current plans call for a seven-year lease beginning in mid-2006 and ending in 2012. The MoD would like to lease two vessels with a total cost not to exceed the current five-year operational costs of the Castle-class vessels. The current costs of maintaining and operating the two Castle-class vessels is estimated at $87.7 million over a five-year period.