Peru enlarges OPV fleet
Two new OPVs have been commissioned for the Peruvian Coast Guard in a ceremony at the SIMA Chimbote shipyard.
BAP Río Tumbes and BAP Río Locumba join BAP Río Pativilca, BAP Río Cañete, BAP Río Piura and BAP Río Quilca, delivered in 2015-2017 and in service with the Peruvian Coast Guard.
After the two new OPVs are launched and their onboard systems are tested, they will enter service in January 2021.
A Peruvian MoD statement on 26 July added that a total of ten boats will be built under a state investment programme to enhance maritime security and surveillance, anti-smuggling and SAR operations.
Walter Martos, Minister of Defence, said: ‘These boats allow us to have control of our coast, in our Grau Sea, out to approximately between 25 and 50 miles [40-80km].’
Martos added that the SIMA shipyard may in future build ocean-going vessels capable of patrolling out to 200 miles from the Peruvian coast.
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