Page 77: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 1998)

NAVAL TECHNOLOGY

Halter Lays Keel Of First

Bahamas Class Patrol Boat

Halter Marine Group, Inc. has laid the keel for the first of two 198.8-ft. (60.6-m) Bahamas class long range offshore patrol boats for the government of the Bahamas.

The design is an adaptation of the

Europatrol 250, a modern Vosper

International patrol craft design incorporating the latest in avail- able technology to provide a com- fortable, capable craft to fulfill the mission requirements of the Royal

Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF).

The vessels will include compo- nents produced by two Halter ship- yards. Halter-Gulfport, Miss., will fabricate the boats' aluminum superstructures which will be mated to the vessels' steel hulls at

Moss Point Marine, Inc., where the vessels will be completed.

The new patrol boats are designed for multi-purpose patrol of Bahamian territorial waters to counter illegal narcotics traffic; provide search, rescue and refugee assistance; control economic fish- eries protection zones; and provide disaster relief.

Mission-related areas include high-speed response to emergen- cies, mothership applications in support of security operations, sur- veillance monitoring and control of sea lanes and support of coast guard, police and customs opera- tions.

The first vessel is scheduled for delivery in January 1999, and the second will follow in March 1999.

The Bahamas class vessels mea- sure 198.8 ft. (60.6 m) long with a 29.2 ft. (8.9 m) beam and a full load draft of 8.5 ft. (2.6 m). Each will have a range of 3,000 nautical miles at a speed of approximately 10 knots. Accommodations for up to 62 personnel with an endurance of 21 days are provided.

The total cost for the two vessels is approximately $26 million, and the four optional Nassau class patrol boats would raise the con- tract value to $62 million.

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