Audaz (P-45) is a offshore patrol vessels and the fifth of the Meteoro class, a new kind of offshore patrol vessel created for the Spanish Navy and called BAMs. The BAM (Buque de Acción MarÃtima) ships are new modular offshore patrol vessels of the Spanish Navy adapted to different purposes from a common base, manufactured by Navantia. The BAMs combine high performance with mission versatility, a high commonality with other ships operated by the Spanish Navy. Modular design enables the ships to be modified for purposes outside main missions such as hydrographic research, intelligence gathering, diving support and salvage operations. The BAM (Buque de Acción MarÃtima) project consists of 12 vessels.
The BAM main missions are:
Protection and escort of other ships;
Control of maritime traffic;
Control and neutralization of terrorist actions and piracy;
Operations against drug trafficking and trafficking in persons;
Maritime Rescue and Rescue Operations;
Support for crisis situations and humanitarian aid;
Control of fisheries legislation;
Control of environmental and anti-pollution legislation.
This ship is the fifth of this type to be built, and the first of the second batch that Navantia contracted with the Spanish Navy, according to the Order of Execution signed on December 5, 2014. Navantia commissioned the lead ship of the first batch in 2006, which was completed in 2012 with the construction and delivery to the Spanish Navy of four BAMs, named Meteoro (P-41), Rayo (P-42), Relámpago (P-43) and Tornado (P-44). These vessels have successfully participated in numerous national and international operations.
On May 7, 2014, SEPI announced that it had approved the construction of two new units, one to be built at the Cadiz shipyard in San Fernando / Puerto Real and the other at Ferrol. The first sheet metal cut for these vessels, was carried out simultaneously in the shipyards of the bay of Cadiz and those of the Ferrol estuary on December 5, 2014. Order No. DEF/1564/2015 was published in the Official State Gazette on June 26, 2015, which names of these two ships as Audaz (P-45) and Furor (P-46). The ship was laid down on April 29, 2016 and launched on March 30, 2017 at the San Fernando shipyard. Its delivery to the Spanish Navy is scheduled for 2018.
