Peruvian shipyard SIMA has launched Offshore Patrol Vessels BAP RÃO TUMBES and RÃO LOCUMBA at its Chimbote shipyard as part of a 10-vessel construction programme. The vessels will join the first four units already delivered to the Peruvian Navy – the first of which was commissioned in 2016 – to conduct maritime security and national defence operations, ensuring the safety of human life at sea, protection of the environment and the countering of illegal fishing, piracy and drug trafficking.
The new vessels were built as part of a programme to regenerate capacity to conduct coastal surveillance as well as search and rescue operations. They were designed with the support of the South Korean shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, in addition to technology transfer and joint development of weapons systems with Spain’s Escribano Mechanical & Engineering, including a 30mm SENTINEL turret and two 12.7mm GUARDIAN mounts. They are 55.3m in length and displace 500t.
The General Directorate of Captaincies and Coastguards is the maritime authority and the Peruvian Coast Guard, the same one that carries out the control and surveillance work in maritime, fluvial and lacustrine environments, as well as search and rescue tasks. It is attached to the Navy of Peru, and according to law is empowered to exercise the maritime, fluvial and lacustrine police in order to apply and enforce the national regulations and international instruments of which Peru is a party.
Currently the Peruvian Coast Guard is composed by seven coastal patrol ships, sixteen port patrol boats, and speedboats for bay control, river patrol boats, river speedboats, lake patrol boats, lake speedboats and motorboats for river interdiction, two Sea King helicopters for SAR operations, a Twin Otter hydroplane as well as a fleet of operational vehicles which strengthens operations by coast police of Coast Guard Captaincies.
