Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ireland’s New OPV, Samuel Beckett

Posted on by
92

Thought I had posted about this ship earlier, but could not find it, if I did. At any rate our friend at Think Defence has done a nice write up. This class (90 meters), may be the evolutionary immediate predecessor of Eastern’s OPC proposal, being a development of the New Zealand Protector class OPV (85 meters), which was in turn a development of the Irish Róisín Class (80 meters). The Samuel Beckett class is notable for their low cost, hybrid propulsion, and small crew size.

Russia Builds an OPC

Posted on by
4

NavyRecognition is reporting the launch of the first for a class of ships being built for the Maritime Border Guards of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB, successor of the KGB). The ship is similar in many respect to the projected Offshore Patrol Cutter.

Named “Ocean,” she is reportedly ice strengthened with a displacement of 2,700 tons, a speed of 20 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, and a 60 day endurance. She has a hangar and flight deck, at least two RHIBs, and a 76mm gun. Unlike previous classes used by the Maritime Boarder Guards this is not an adaptation of a Navy design.

Drug Enforcement Return on Investment

Posted on by
18

FierceHomelandSecurity is reporting on testimony of both the Commandant and the Commander of SouthCom, Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, before a joint hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Foreign Affairs subcommittees.

“Joint Interagency Task Force South, which is part of Southcom and includes the Coast Guard, (other–Chuck) military services and other agencies, seizes the majority of the cocaine bound for the United States, said Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly, the Southcom commander. Yet it receives only 1.5 percent of the federal government’s total counternarcotics budget, he said.”

Commandant Adm. Robert Papp, who appeared alongside Kelly, said that in the past five years, the Coast Guard seized more than twice the amount of cocaine as all domestic law enforcement agencies – federal, state and local – combined.

Over the last five years, Coast Guard ships and law enforcement detachments operating in the offshore regions have removed more than a million pounds of cocaine with a wholesale value of nearly $17 billion. This is more than two times the amount of cocaine seized by all other U.S. federal, state and local law enforcement agencies combined.

While I have my own reservations about the effectiveness of efforts to restrict supply, if you are going to attempt to cut supply, it sure looks like funding Coast Guard efforts should be the first place to put your money.

Canadian Natives ban Government and Civilian Craft

Posted on by
1

Interesting news article here. A native group is displeased with the performance of Canadian Fisheries authorities and has taken matters into their own hands:

“Until further notice, Stz’uminus First Nation will prohibit access to its core territory in the Salish Sea by all vessels, including but not limited to, commercial fishing vessels, Fisheries and Oceans Canada vessels, and any non-Native civilians and government officials,” John Elliott, chief of the Ladysmith-area band said in a statement released Friday.

New Cutter for Ecuador

Posted on by
Reply

NavyRecognition is reporting the award of a contract for a fourth Damen 2606 patrol boat to be built in Ecuador for the Ecuadorian Coast Guard. Apparently this boat is the latest version of the USCG’s 87 foot patrol boats.

NavyRecognition illustrated their story with a photo of a member of the class in Saudi Arabian service (completed 2002/3). Reportedly the Ecuadorian boats will have a speed of 30 knots. Specs for the Saudi boat from my Combat fleets of the World also indicate a speed of 30 knots as opposed to 27 knots for the 87 ft WPBs and that they use two MTU 12V396 TE94 diesels for 4,430HP as against two MTU 8V396 TE94 diesels for 2,950HP for the WPBs, so same series engines but a 50% larger version. There appears to be some differences in the hull too as the discontinuity in the main deck is further forward in the Saudi boats (which were built in the Netherlands).

With boats built under Coast Guard Contracts for the US Navy, Yemen, and Malta, and additional boats built or building for Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Ecuador these boats are becoming relatively common.

OPC and the LCS Replacement (SSC), Sister Ships?

Posted on by
75

I am not the only one seeing a possible opportunity for commonality between the Coast Guard’s Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) and the Navy’s projected Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) replacement. Here is a comment from Tim Colton’s Maritime Memos.

“The LCS program having proved unaffordable, largely thanks to the Navy’s idiotic passion for bells and whistles, they are now looking for suggestions for what they call a small surface combatant, or SSC. Read the announcement on FedBizOpps… The key words in the RFI are right up front: Small surface combatants enable the Navy to implement the Defense Strategic Guidance (DSG) imperative to develop innovative, low-cost, and small-footprint approaches to achieve our security objectives.

“It sounds as though we now have a potential overlap between the Navy’s SSC and the Coast Guard’s OPC, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it would be nice if, for a change, the Navy could manage to build some affordable ships. I know, shades of Gary Hart, but I think this is what we need, not more SSNs at $1.8 billion a pop. May Day, 2014.”

There is more information on the solicitation here.

Quoting from the solicitation, “This type of ship provides Combatant and Fleet Commanders a uniquely suitable asset for Theater Security Cooperation tasking and select sea control missions. These small surface combatants build and strengthen maritime relationships by operating with partners and allies in various theaters of operation.”

They are “asking for existing and mature design concepts.” The eight shipyards that bid on the OPC, and particularly the three that were selected, should be in a particularly good position to meet the demands of the solicitation.

We know they want more survivability and range, but they also want low cost and small footprint. To me that means a ship of similar size to the existing LCS but without the requirement for extreme speed that has made them high strung, crowded, and fragile. A slightly lengthened OPC can meet the requirements. Replace the 57mm with a larger gun and the Mk38 mod2 with CIWS/RAM/SeaRAM. Install CAPTAS (active/passive variable depth/towed array sonar) aft and use the extra length to add VLS and a second CIWS/RAM/SeaRAM, and you have a very viable, long ranged Small Surface Combatant.

If the Navy and Coast Guard could share a common Small Surface Combatant, they could probably be made in very economically.