Portugal starts construction of final tranche of Viana do Castelo OPVs
The OPVs of the NPO3S tranche will complement the Portuguese Navy's existing fleet of four Viana do Castelo-class OPVs, including NRP Sines (pictured here). (Victor Barreira)
The modernisation of the surface fleet of the Portuguese Navy reached a significant milestone on 31 March with the start of the construction of the first of six additional Viana do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) at West Sea – Estaleiros Navais' shipyard in Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal.
This new batch of multimission OPVs was ordered on 29 December 2023 under a contract awarded by the Ministry of National Defence to meet the requirements of the NPO3S (Navios de Patrulha Oceanicos da 3ª série) project, part of the navy's fleet renewal programme.
The commissioning of the six OPVs is scheduled to take place between 2027 and 2031.
The fleet was designed to carry out a large payload of missions, including search and rescue (SAR), patrol, surface and underwater surveillance, logistics support, mine warfare, and command-and-control.
The new OPVs will complement the existing OPVs of the Viana do Castelo class, comprising NRP Viana do Castelo and NRP Figueira da Foz (NPO1S batch) and NRP Sines and NRP Setúbal (NPO2S batch).
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