First Jan Mayen-class OPV for Norwegian Coast Guard nears completion

Jan Mayen , the first of three new OPVs being built for the Norwegian Coast Guard, is planned to be delivered in early 2023. (NDMA)

Work on the first Jan Mayen-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) on order for the Norwegian Coast Guard is nearing completion, with the vessel on track to be delivered in early 2023.

First-of-class Jan Mayen is progressing through its builder's trials and is expected to be delivered to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) and the coastguard in early 2023, an NDMA spokesperson told Janes.

As part of the trials, the vessel completed its first successful sail under its own power in October, the spokesperson said. This was followed by a formal ceremony to christen the ship on 16 November.

Jan Mayen is the first of three new coastguard vessels being built by the shipbuilder Vard under a contract worth NOK7.2 billion (USD721 million), awarded in 2018.

Under the terms of the contract, the ship hulls are being built at Vard's Tulcea shipyard in Romania before being transferred to Vard's Langsten yard in Tomrefjord in Norway, for outfitting and sea trials ahead of handover to the Norwegian Coast Guard.

Works on the other two ships are also progressing.Second-in-class Bjørnøya arrived in Norway for outfitting in March 2022, and under current planning will be handed over to the NDMA later in 2023. The final ship, Hopen, is planned to be delivered in 2024.