The Keel Laying Ceremony of 2 units of Offshore Patrol Vessel which the design, construction and integration processes performed by Dearsan Shipyard for the Nigerian Navy has been held at Dearsan Shipyard, Tuzla, ?stanbul on 16 September 2022. The ceremony held under the auspices of the H.E. Minister of Defense of Nigeria, Bashir Salihi Magashi. Dearsan Chairman of the Board Mr. Aziz Y?ld?r?m, Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatl?oglu, H.E. Deputy Minister of National Defence of Türkiye Muhsin Dere, H.E. Nigerian Ambassador to Türkiye Ismail Abba Yusuf, Nigerian Naval Forces Commander Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu GAMBO have attended the ceremony with the distinguished members of the Türkiye and Nigeria Navies, local and foreign guests, and press members.
Two vessels will be equipped with locally-built sensors and systems. The design and construction activities of OPVs will be configured in line with the requirements of the Nigerian Navy. earsan Shipyard will build 2 units of 76 m OPV (76 meter Offshore Patrol Vessel) within the scope of the contract signed with the Nigerian Navy. The OPV’s, which have been configured in line with the Nigerian Navy requirements, will be designed and build entirely within shipyard’s capabilities and equipped with indigenous systems. The keel laying ceremony comes about 10 months after the Nigerian Navy (NN) signed a contract with Dearsan Shipyard to build two units of the 76m Offshore Patrol Vessel, specifically on November 3, 2021.
The 76 m OPV will be armed with 76 mm Leonardo Super Rapid Gun, 40 mm Leonardo Light Naval Gun, two 12.7 mm Stabilized Automatic Machine Guns, two 12.7 mm Manual Use Machine Guns, and two by two SAM SIMBAD RC. They will have a length of 76.80 m, a beam of 11 m, a draft of 2.90 m, and a displacement of 1100 tons. They will be able to carry 43 sailors and reach a top speed of 28 knots. The vessels will be capable of conducting search and rescue, anti-piracy, anti-smuggling, and anti-drug operations, as well as disaster relief and other operations. They will be deployed to project naval power within the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), contribute significantly to the development of global maritime trade, deter oil theft, and provide safe seas for Nigeria’s marine and hydrocarbon resources.
DEARSAN, is a modern shipyard, which operates in ?stanbul, Turkey. DEARSAN Shipyard has the ability to build 9 ships of various types at the same time with its 126 m long skid, 15.341 m2 closed ship building site, 15.870 m2 open area and 31.211m2 total area. DEARSAN specializes in the design and construction of private military ships, with the integration of weapon systems, as well as in the construction of complex commercial ships. DEARSAN Shipyard has NATO Secret Facility Security Certificate, NATIONAL Secret Facility Security Certificate, ISO 9001:2015 Quality Certificate, ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Certificate, ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Certificate and SASAD Defense Industry Manufacturers Association Certificate.
