BAE Systems has launched the last offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force at the company’s shipyard on the Clyde River in Glasgow, Scotland.
The launch of the San Fernando, the last of three ships ordered by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, was followed by the first sea trials of the Scarborough.
BAE Systems surface ships international programmes director Scott Jamieson said the launch of the San Fernando comes eight months after the launch of the first two ships in the class.
The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard will use the OPVs for a range of economic exclusion zone management tasks including disaster relief operations and fighting drug traffickers in the Caribbean.
Fitted with advanced radar, the OPV is capable of detecting low-flying planes, fast interceptor crafts as well as rigid inflatable boats used by drug smugglers and can carry out operations at sea for up to 35 days.
The 90.5m-long, 13.5m-wide patrol vessel can accommodate 60 crew and can cruise at a speed in excess of 25kts.
