The Finnish subsidiary of Papenburg-based Meyer Werft is pressing ahead with the construction of two patrol vessels for the Finnish Border Guard.
The construction is progressing as planned, Meyer Turku has now confirmed: with the keel laying of the first ship at the Baltic Operator shipyard in Gdansk.
In keeping with tradition, the client, i.e. the Finnish Border Guard and the shipyard representative placed their lucky coins under the keel below the first block. Later, the coins are to be transferred to the finished ship to bring it good luck.
“The offshore patrol vessels are built in the facilities of our long-standing partner shipyards under the management of and in full compliance with the quality requirements of Meyer Turku. The cooperation, which got off to an excellent start, has now entered the phase where we can celebrate the achievement of one of the milestones of traditional shipbuilding,” said Tapani Pulli, Deputy CEO of Meyer Turku.
Meyer Turku aims to deliver first newbuilding in 2025
The operational capability of the Finnish Border Guard on the open sea is largely based on the continuous operation and readiness of the multifunctional offshore patrol vessels, it is said. The offshore patrol vessels are at sea around 330 days a year.
The Finnish Border Guard currently has three offshore patrol vessels in operation, the latest of which is the “Turva,” which entered service in 2014. Finland had ordered two 98-metre-long Turva-class vessels for maritime border protection. They are to replace the older patrol vessels “Tursas” and “Uisko.”
Preparations are being made to hand over the two older offshore patrol vessels when the newbuildings are completed. According to the contract, the first new vessel is to be completed by the end of 2025 and the second by the end of 2026.
The operational capability of the Finnish Border Guard vessels under construction is to be significantly improved compared to the old vessels: “The vessels’ capabilities for surveillance and response in border surveillance tasks and in the control and protection of territorial integrity in this context will be improved.” Advanced surveillance systems and data transmission solutions will improve the maintenance and exchange of surveillance information in real-time.
They will also be immediately operational to combat major environmental accidents and the total oil production capacity will be approximately double the current capacity.
