The fleet of patrol vessels of the Cypriot Maritime Police is being substantially strengthened in a period marked by escalated tensions and non-stop migratory flows in the Cypriot EEZ.

Tehnomont Shipyard Pula Ltd, based in the city of Pula, Croatia, has completed the construction and delivery of 3 state-of-the-art fast patrol vessels for the Cyprus Maritime Police, a department under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus.

The missions to be carried out by these vessels, namely the PV 31 “Kantara”, PV 32 “Kyrenia and PV 33 “Pentadaktylos”, are border control, combating illegal immigration and smuggling, maritime law enforcement as well as search and rescue missions.

PV 32 “Kantara” docked in Limassol Port

This is an important milestone both for the Croatian shipyard and the Cyprus Maritime Police, while the agreement was concluded with the participation of the Cypriot company Importica Ltd.

Regarding the activities of Importica you can watch the interesting DEFENCE ReDEFiNED podcast with Tasos Ioannou, director of the company. The podcast is available here (in Greek).

The three high-performance vessels are 17 meters long and have been designed by Camarc Design. They are the latest project of Tehnomont Shipyard Pula Ltd. Owing to their high speed (43 knots), they can carry out search and rescue missions without affecting the personnel’s safety in adverse sea weather conditions.

Among the vessels’ features are the Camarc Refined Hull (double hull), which has proven its excellent resistance and great performance for medium-speed missions. The Camarc hull offers, among others, balanced all-round navigation, but also great resistance to wear and tear.

The vessels in question also feature a protective tire made of D fender rubber, a bridge offering panoptic visibility, safety grills, 3 rescue platforms and autonomous fuel tanks with a total capacity of 4700 liters.

PV 31 “Kyrenia” during her transportation to  Limassol Port

Each vessel features two 810 kW, MTU 8V engines, can develop speeds of up to 43 knots and carry a 6-member crew and 12 passengers. The vessels are 17.5 meters long, with a beam equal to 4.5 meters and a draught of 1 meter. Their operational endurance is up to 350 nautical miles.

In terms of armament, the new vessels have two NATO (STANAG 3 level) shielded gun positions (one in the bow and one in the stern) that can mount 0.50″ machine guns.

The three vessels also feature a modern electro-optical package and sensors together with a full suite of navigating aids.

TEHNOMONT SHIPYARD PULA Ltd has had long-lasting experience in the shipbuilding and shipbuilding-repair industry since 1905 with a high level of technology and know-how.

The main activities of the company concern the construction of various types of vessels for defence, security and civil applications.

Also read: Port and Marine Police | Always alert for protection and safety | VIDEO