The new multi-purpose vessel, which will be named D João II , is planned to enter service in the second half of 2026. (Damen)

Damen Shipyards Group has been awarded a contract for the design, construction, and outfitting of a new multi-purpose vessel for the Portuguese Navy.

Announcing the contract award on 24 November, Damen said the 107 m-long vessel had been designed to meet the Portuguese Navy's requirement for a platform that combined oceanic research with unmanned systems deployment capabilities.

The new vessel, which will be named D João II, is planned to enter service in the second half of 2026.

The project follows a European tender process and has received funding from the European Union's (EU's) Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which is part of NextGenerationEU, the economic recovery package to support EU member states affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. PRR funding for the project is valued at EUR94.5 million (USD103.8 million), with state investment amounting to EUR37.5 million.

The multi-purpose vessel will be used primarily for oceanic research, search-and-rescue, and emergency relief, with a secondary role for naval support and maritime security operations.

Deylaman formally entered service on 27 November. (Islamic Republic News Agency)

The Northern Fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) officially received its new frigate on 27 November, nearly six years after its previous one sank in an accident.

IRINS Deylaman (78) was formally inducted into service in Bandar-e Anzali on the Caspian, with photographs showing the event took place at one of the port's grain terminals, not at the IRIN base where it was built.

Deylaman replaces Damavand (77), the second of Iran's locally built Jamaran-class frigates, which sank after hitting the breakwater around Bandar-e Anzali during a storm in January 2018.

Satellite imagery shows the first section of the hull for a replacement had appeared in the dry dock at the base by October 2018. Until recently, IRIN officers referred to the new ship as Damavand, and it had the number 77 painted on top of its bridge and helicopter flight deck until October, when this was changed to 78, indicating it was recently renamed after a town close to Bandar-e Anzali.

Deylaman

A still from media coverage of the commissioning of Bani Yas , the first of the UAE's two Gowind corvettes, on 29 November 2023. (WAM news agency)

The first of the two Gowind corvettes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ordered from France's Naval Group was commissioned into service on 29 November, the UAE Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced.

Bani Yas (P110) was commissioned by Vice-President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan at the Mina Zayed naval base in Abu Dhabi just under two years after it was launched at Naval Group's yard in Lorient.

Naval Group announced earlier in November that the corvette left Lorient on 23 October having been handed over to the UAE Navy two days earlier. It added that the UAE's second Gowind, Al Emarat , would soon begin sea trials.

The video released by the MoD also showed that the UAE Navy has commissioned a third 71 m landing ship called Al Dannah , further augmenting its already impressive sealift capability. Satellite imagery shows the landing ship was launched at the Al-Fattan yard in Abu Dhabi in March 2022.