Montenegro's new patrol ships will be built to the same design as the three OPV 58 S patrol boats delivered to the Senegalese Navy in 2023–24 (first-of-class Walo is pictured). (Piriou)
Kership, the joint venture partnership between French shipyards Naval Group and Piriou, has been awarded a contract for the supply of two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Montenegrin Navy.
Under the contract – signed by Kership officials and Montenegrin Minister of Defence Dragan Krapović at the Euronaval 2024 exhibition, held in Paris from 4 to 7 November – Piriou will build and deliver two OPV 60 M patrol vessels at Piriou's shipyard in Concarneau, France. The scope of the contract also includes a training package and initial logistics support.
The deal forms part of an intergovernmental agreement on defence co-operation signed between France and Montenegro in Paris in April 2024.
Speaking to Janes at Euronaval 2024, a Kership official said the two ships were planned to be delivered within 24 months to three years of contract signing. They will be based on Kership's OPV 60 design and similar to the ‘batch 1' Walo (OPV 58 S)-class patrol boats delivered for the Senegalese Navy but less armed and with some enhanced operational features regarding the sensor fit, he said.
Kership's OPV 60 design is intended for offshore surveillance, search-and-rescue (SAR), boarding, and constabulary missions, including combating illegal fishing, illegal migration, and drug trafficking.
It is based on the ‘C-Sharp' (Combined-Speeds Hull with All-Round Performances) hull form jointly developed by Piriou and Kership, which increases the ship's endurance and seagoing capabilities.
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