| Eastern promise Shipbuilders find success in new markets David Reynolds charts the global growth of naval patrol craft and traces |
| The global market in offshore patrol craft has boomed during the past few years with both the Gulf states and south-east Asia recording the biggest growth, as governments in these regions seek to spread their influence and to develop their maritime security to counteract increasing regional dangers. |
| Political instability combined with the threat of maritime conflict in coastal areas that could endanger commercial shipping routes, has greatly encouraged major investment in naval capability. Analysts who specialise in predicting maritime developments have indicated that Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam will most probably procure at least 70 patrol vessels during the next ten years or so. At the same time regional and local development has stimulated the requirement for reliable sea communications and raised the demand to enhance combat capability. | |
| This has resulted in a clear demand for a new generation of
cost-effective offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) ranging from multi-role patrol craft to
corvette and fast-attack craft. The problem for a number of ship-builders has been that many middle-east countries issue a tender specification that incorporates the design and capability of an offshore patrol vessel with that of a fast attack craft, resulting in a cost-saving product for the client that the commercial shipbuilding business has found hard to reconcile. In the Gulf a high state of military readiness is evident in the aftermath of the Gulf war and this is being fuelled constantly by Iraq's regular acts of defiance against the United Nations and countries in the west, particularly the US. In addition Iran's procurement of two Kilo-class submarines from former Soviet Union countries has caused further reviews of the true naval capability of Gulf states. It was revealed recently that Iran has allocated $2.7 billion a year to its defence budget since 1988 when the country's eight-year war with Iraq came to an end. Viewed by some expert observers as politically and militarily unstable, Iran has a host of patrol craft that have been procured mainly from former Soviet Union countries. Ironically for a country so opposed to US influence in the region, Iran's patrol craft at one time included many former US Navy vessels, although many were sunk during the Iran/Iraq war. In the late 1990s Iran is now regrouping her naval assets with Russia and North Korea offering technical assistance and a constant supply of vessels. |
 The combined gun/MISTRAL missile system produced by Matra BAe Dynamics
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Still in the Gulf region, Iraq continually complains that her
economy is being suppressed by the stringent enforcement of UN sanctions that is most
evident in the northern waters of the Gulf where multi-national war ships are deployed to
maintain a maritime blockade in support of the UN resolution. In consequence of all this seaborne activity, many of the Gulf states have updated relevant aspects of their defence, mindful that the geography of the region means giving priority to naval forces. Patrol craft have been purchased by Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE and Kuwait, but these aware and informed customers are no longer satisfied with an offer of standard OPVs. During the 1990s a greater use of rapidly developing technology has been sought to reduce crew size that in turn has enhanced running costs. These craft are used mostly for economic exclusion zone (EEZ) duties although they retain the flexibility to deploy in support of a wide range of other roles such as fishery protection, search and rescue as well as disaster relief support. The United Arab Emirates requirement to replace its Ardhana patrol craft demonstrates the new concept of such craft that is likely to be required in the next decade. Defence chiefs in the UAE expanded the specification to include aspects of fast-attack craft. In total seven shipyards submitted tenders for the work, much of which will be carried out at the national Abu Dhabi shipbuilding yard. The Royal Navy of Oman (RNO) has been a leading
exponent of the procurement of small vessels and under Project Muheet, the UK shipbuilder
Vosper Thornycroft has built two 83-metre corvettes for the RNO in a comprehensive deal
that included crew training and a through-life maintenance commitment. Operating with a
crew of just sixty, the vessels can reach speeds in excess of 25 knots and will be used in
the Arabian Sea, the approaches to the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. |
| All the Gulf states have thoroughly reviewed their naval
capability and several have completely updated their fleet of minehunters, others such as
Qatar have followed the example of Oman and purchased four Vosper Thornycroft fast-patrol
craft. These strike craft will be used for coastal-patrol duties. Farther east Asian navies are making sure that their patrol fleets have the muscle to protect their regional status during the next decade. The Royal Brunei Navy has procured two missile corvettes from UK-based Yarrow Ship-builders that will patrol the country's national waters where commercial shipping has been subject to piracy of late. Indonesia, Brunei's neighbour, has the most difficult geographic territory to patrol and not surprisingly their waters also have been subject to piracy both in the South China Sea as well as the Flores and Banda seas. The Indonesian navy currently is procuring a number of German patrol craft to enhance her capability of dealing with this problem. |
 Qens Huwar, the second of four fast-strike craft Vosper Thorneycroft is building for the Qatar Emiri Navy |
| The Philippines navy faces a continuing operational task in
patrolling the Spartley Islands to which it claims sovereignty. At present China has a
naval presence on the island but the Philippine fleet patrols the coastline to protect its
fishery rights. To boost their capability the Philippines government recently procured three patrol-class vessels from the Royal Navy. The ships, HMS Peacock, HMS Plover and HMS Starling, were delivered to the Philippines after the UK's handover of Hong Kong where the warships had served for the previous five years. |
 HMS Shetland, a Royal Navy offshore patrol vessel pictured off Gibraltar |
| All three are understood to be undergoing a major weapons upgrade to
convert them to missile gunboats. But Philippines defence staff have identified a definite
requirement for more patrol craft and both Australian and South Korean shipbuilders
currently are offering projects that include through-life support for any ships ordered
from their yards. The Royal Malaysia Navy is looking very closely at a collaborative
programme with Australia on the basis of an offshore patrol vessel design by Transfield
Defence Systems. Malaysia's primary area of coastal patrol and operational deployment is
the South China Sea. Since it was separated from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore has pursued a policy of total security and total defence that fully takes into account its position as a small, potentially vulnerable country. A traditional and accomplished shipbuilder in its own right, Singapore has developed its own offshore patrol craft. Known as the Fearless class, 13 have already been commissioned into the Singapore navy and a further order for eight new-generation, 90-metre-long patrol craft has been approved and the vessels are expected in service at the end of the decade. The Vietnamese navy has a large economic exclusion zone to monitor that is packed with oil and gas resources. It is likely to be the focus of future disputes and to kindle concern for maritime security in the region. At present its navy is made up of mainly small obsolete surface craft purchased from countries of the former Soviet Union. However, in the past year Russia has offered further assistance to Vietnam in the form of the supply of two Tarantul class corvettes and also is understood to be providing technical assistance to local Vietnamese shipyards that are preparing to build new missile craft and offshore patrol craft. |
 The GKN Aquatrack |
But China and Japan dominate the naval capability in the
far-east region and these two mighty powers are understood to be boosting their own patrol
and fast-attack craft and arming many with up-todate missile systems. It is difficult to
gauge the capability of these two forces, for example China has 300 warships of which
western intelligence is aware but the ships' weapons systems and their combat roles have
not been identified. Europe is confident that it is pioneering the way ahead in the specialised area of offshore patrol craft. The UK's Vosper Thornycroft and Germany's Blohm & Voss are working on separate new concepts that it is estimated will incorporate every aspect of new technology and the latest developments in stealth design. |
| The Royal Navy has demonstrated in the past decade the need for an
offshore patrol vessel with its Castle class whose ships can vary their role to support
changing maritime environments from oil-rig protection to out-of-area operations in the
south Atlantic as Falklands patrol ships. Growing global instability in the so-called new world order has lead to increased pressure on governments that has clearly resulted in demands for greater maritime power. The naval forces that will result from these pressures will be used to police territorial sea lanes or to support the projection of maritime power in operations from the sea. The latest patrol craft are being developed into custom-built platforms to meet clients' specific requirements. Small, cost-effective and packing a powerful punch, the patrol craft of the future will carry an immense arsenal of technology and weapons systems and will incorporate two or three different naval roles with relative ease and efficiency |
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