Norway's New OPVs: Flexibility, Power, Efficiency - Opportunity?

For most countries, coast guard duties consist of inshore search and rescue, security patrols and environmental protection, and are performed by smaller vessels, Many are even operated by civilian agencies. Not so for the Norwegian coast guard, which is a branch of the Norwegian Navy and operates in Norway's entire Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) and protection zones, a total of 2.2 million square kilometers as well-known known for the North Sea's and Arctic's harsh conditions as it is for its oil platforms and rich fisheries.

To perform these duties, a whole series of new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) ranging in size from 700-6,500 tons have been developed by Norwegian designers over the last decade. The traditional corvette designs were avoided - instead, the new ships were based on 30-40 years of experience designing civilian offshore support and fishing vessels for the North Sea. Lately, as advanced OPVs have begun riding a crest of popularity and the littoral threat continues to rise, the Norwegian branch of Rolls Royce has found itself designing coastal and environmental protection vessels for France, Spain and India; they are considered strong candidates with other countries as well.

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