The navy of the Asian island state of Singapore is upgrading: Four offshore patrol vessels have been ordered from Fassmer. They will be put into service from 2028.
The contract was recently signed, Singapore’s Ministry of Defense announced. The newbuilds from Fassmer will replace four Sentinel-class vessels. The ships are based on Fassmer’s OPV 80 design, which was also used for the new Potsdam-class ships of the German Federal Police. [ds_preview]
The OPVs are to be designed with their high maneuverability in the busy waters off Singapore. Thanks to a flexible equipment concept, they could be used for a wide range of maritime threat situations, according to the ministry.
The Potsdam class of the German Federal Police consists of four ships: “Potsdam”, “Bamberg”, “Bad Düben” and “Neustadt”. The latter was only put into service this June as the fourth unit in the series. According to earlier information, the construction costs amounted to €55 million per ship. This would make the order from Singapore worth around €220 million.
Fassmer’s Potsdam class in service with the German Federal Police
The ships are 86 m long and 13.42 m wide. They are powered by two Wartsila diesel engines with an output of 4,080 kW each, which are supplemented by two 600 kW electric motors. These drive controllable pitch propellers, which give the ships a maximum speed of 21 knots.
The OPV, which is armed with a naval gun on the forecastle and two machine guns, is equipped with a helicopter deck designed for the “Super Puma” of the German Federal Police. and have space inside for five deployment containers.
