Singapore Technologies Marine Ltd (ST Marine), the marine arm of Singapore
Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering), today held the Interim
Acceptance ceremony for the Patrol Vessel (PV) RNOV Khasab. This is
the final, in a series of four vessels, designed and built for the Royal
Navy of Oman (RNO). The Guest of- Honour was the Consul General for
the Oman Consulate for the Republic of Singapore, HE Zakariya Hamed
Hilal Al Saadi. |
The contract
for the design and build of the four Al-Ofouq class of PVs was awarded
by the Ministry of Defence of the Sultanate of Oman in April 2012. It
was the largest defence export contract in ST Engineering’s history.
These four vessels will replace the Sultanate’s current four Seeb
class PVs commissioned in the early 1980s.
The Al-Ofouq vessel is designed and built based on ST Marine’s
proprietary 75m Fearless-class patrol vessel. Measuring 75m in length,
breadth at 12.5m and displaces approximately 1,250 tonnes, the vessels
can accommodate 60 crew and is equipped with a flight deck to support
the operation of a medium lift-helicopter. Armed with modern weapons
and sensors and equipped with a state of art combat management system,
the PVs are most suited for a variety of maritime missions.
The Al-Ofouq vessels are named after various cities along the Oman coastal
area. Al-Seeb is a coastal fishing city, located several kilometers
northwest of Muscat, in the northeastern Oman; Shinas is a coastal town
in northern Oman, Sadh is located in Salalah; and Khassab is a coastal
city located in Musandam Governorate and overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.
The first PV, RNOV Al Seeb has been successfully delivered. The second,
RNOV Shinas has completed her live firing trials in Oman last November
2015. The third, RNOV Sadh had arrived in Oman on 17 March 2016, had
completed her live firing trials in April 2016. Both are currently preparing
for hot-weather trials by 2Q2016. |
