Update: OCEA launches new OPV for Philippine Coast Guard

French shipbuilder OCEA has launched the 84 m offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Gabriela Silang (8301) for the Philippine Coast Guard.

Claimed to be the largest aluminium-built OPV in the world, Gabriela Silang was craned into the water at OCEA’s facility in Les Sables d’Olonne on the west coast of France on 17 July. Sea trials will start later this year after the French summer vacation period.

Gabriela Silang was craned into the water at OCEA’s Les Sables d'Olonne shipyard on 17 July. (OCEA)

The new ship, built to OCEA’s proprietary OPV 270 design, is the fifth and final vessel from a EUR90 million (USD101.1 million) contract awarded by the Philippine Department of Transportation and financed through BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole-LCL. OCEA had previously delivered the 24 m FPB 72 Mk II patrol boats BRP Boracay , BRP Panglao , BRP Malamawi , and BRP Kalanggaman during 2018.

According to OCEA, the OPV 270 design has been developed to reduce costs of ownership and lessen environmental impact. The company claims that the ship’s diesel-electric propulsion system, using twin MTU 16V 4000 M73 diesel engines, will deliver a CO 2 emission reduction of 20,400 tonnes over a 20-year service life, a reduction of about 40% in comparison with competing designs.

Range is 8,000 n miles at 12 kt, with a mission endurance of up to five weeks. Maximum speed is 22 kt.

Other key features of Gabriela Silang