A ceremony marking the official start of construction of a new coastal patrol vessel was held yesterday at the CSBC Corp, Taiwan shipyard in Kaohsiung, with the ship scheduled for delivery in 2026.
The government has since 2022 budgeted NT$12.9 billion (US$400.96 million) to build six new high-latitude patrol cutters for the Coast Guard Administration (CGA), Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said during the steel-cutting ceremony for the first new patrol vessel.
In September last year, CSBC won a contract from the CGA to build the vessels, with the first slated to be completed in 2026, Kuan said.
Photo: CNA
The six new 5,000-tonne patrol vessels would be larger and more capable than the vessels the CGA currently has in service, Kuan said.
The steel-hulled ships would be equipped with a hybrid oil-electric propulsion system that can improve their performance and endurance and enable them to conduct high sea patrols in all areas where Taiwan’s fishing vessels operate, she added.
To improve emergency preparedness, the first ship under construction would be equipped with 53 temporary emergency shelter beds and a number of medical isolation cabins.
In addition, the rear deck would have an area for emergency supplies storage and transportation, Kuan said.
At the ceremony, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said the ship would be 124m long and 16.5m wide, with a depth of 8m.
The law enforcement weapons system on board would be upgraded from machine guns to a new 20mm remote-controlled turret developed by Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, which in combination with a modular container design would make the new patrol cutter a multifunctional vessel, Huang said.
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