Argentina Coast Guard reintroduces fourth Mantilla-Class OPV.

The Argentine Coast Guard has reintroduced its fourth Mantilla-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) into active service after undergoing maintenance and modernization work at the country's Tandanor Shipyards. The vessel's renewal was marked by a formal ceremony held in late September in Buenos Aires.

Mantilla Class Patrol Vessel "Azopardo" (Picture source: Prefectura Naval Argentina)

The PNA Azopardo is the penultimate of the service's five vessel Mantilla class inventories to return to service, with progress on the retrofitting of the final vessel proceeding apace. The modernization program was launched in 2014 and is expected to extend the vessels service life beyond 2040.

The modernization suite implemented for the vessels includes the integration of improved emergency response and monitoring systems, an enlarged communications room, structural alterations intended to enhance crew livability and accommodate the addition of female crewmembers and generalized repairs and equipment replacements. The vessels will be utilized to conduct interdiction and surveillance duties against illicit maritime fishing and smuggling in Argentine waters and to respond to varied maritime emergencies.

PNA Azopardo (GC-25) is a Mantilla-class patrol boat of the Argentine Naval Prefecture, built at the Empresa Nacional Bazán shipyards and commissioned in 1983. The vessel is named after Juan Bautista Azopardo, a Maltese privateer and officer of the Argentine Navy during the Independence and Cisplatine wars, and Harbourmaster of Buenos Aires; It is the second PNA ship with this name.

The Mantilla class of OPVs features a displacement of 1,084 tons and a length of 67 meters. Azopardo has a steel hull and superstructure, with a single mast atop, behind the bridge. It is powered by two Bazán-MTU 16V-956-TB91 marine diesel engines of 2500kw each (maximum intermittent power 3000kw), driving two variable-pitch propellers; with a maximum speed of 18 knots (19 knots at maximum intermittent power). The design has a maximum range of 3650 nautical miles at a cruise speed of 16 knots.