MarineLog is reporting that, “Damen Shipyards and Italian partner yard Cantiere Navale Vittoria S.p.a. are to build two Stan Patrol 5509 patrol boats for Italy’s Guardia di Finanza, a law enforcement agency that deals with financial crime, smuggling, illegal Immigration and narco traffic and that has a fleet of about 250 vessels.”
Damen also provided the design for the Coast Guard’s 87 foot WPBs and its 154 foot Webber Class Fast Response Cutters.
The two “5509” (55 meters long and 9 meter beam, 190 ft x 30 ft) patrol boats will be the largest built so far in their STAN Patrol Series.
The design features an “Axe” bow intended to minimize vertical acceleration in a seaway. Check the link above for illustrations and more info.
That is similar to what The Romanian Border Police have, which is the Offshore Patrol Vessel 950. Damen has Virtual tour of the Stefan cel Mare – MAI 1105 and here’s the link
http://www.panpics.nl/klanthosting/damen/opv950_web_short/flash/TourWeaver_Project36_web_short.html
There is certainly a family resemblance, but the Romanian ship is apparently larger. The numbers apparently refer to the displacement, so the Romanian ship is 950 tons, about the size of a 210. I also found it referred to as a 6610.(66 meters long and 10 meter beam, 216 ft x33 ft)
What do you think about the Romanian Border Police ship. Would that design ever make it in the US Coast Guard. Damen is using the Sea Axe design concept.
The Romanian design looks too big and too slow (21 knots) to fulfill the FRC/patrol boat role and just slightly too small to fulfill the WMEC/cutter X (https://chuckhillscgblog.net/2012/10/12/the-dhs-cutter-study-trade-offs-and-the-case-for-cutter-x/) role, since it does not have a helicopter deck or hangar. I do think there is a good chance there may be an “Axe” bowed cutter in the future.
Who knows, maybe we can get a Sea Axe design into a Future OPC