The Viana do Castelo is a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of offshore patrol vessels planned by and for the Portuguese Navy

Portuguese Navy

The Portuguese Navy is the naval branch of the Portuguese Armed Forces which, in cooperation and integrated with the other branches of the Portuguese military, is charged with the military defence of Portugal....

, as a result of the NPO2000 Project (Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...

, Navios de Patrulha Oceânica, for Oceanic Patrol Vessels), that are being constructed in the Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo

ENVC Shipyard

Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...

 (ENVC). The eight to ten vessels of this class, specially designed to operate in the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, will replace the João Coutinho

João Coutinho class corvette

The João Coutinho class corvettes were a series of corvettes built for the Portuguese Navy for service in Portugal's African colonies. The corvettes were designed in Portugal by naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira, but the urgent need of their services in the Portuguese Colonial War meant that the...

 and Baptista de Andrade

Baptista de Andrade class corvette

The Baptista de Andrade were a class of four corvettes built for the Portuguese Navy by BAZAN in Spain in the 1970s. They are an updated version of the João Coutinho class corvettes - designed by the Portuguese naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira - with more modern armament and sensors...

 class corvettes — currently being decommissioned —, and the small patrol boats of the Cacine class in their primary fisheries protection role (SIFICAP) and in their search and rescue

Search and rescue

Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...

 (SAR) roles. Two of these vessels of the version Navios de Combate à Poluição (NCP) will be fitted with anti-pollution

Pollution

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...

 systems — including Fast Oil Recovery

Fast Oil Recovery

Fast Oil Recovery are innovative systems which can be built into a new ship or integrated into an old ship facilitating fast, efficient, and safe removal of an oil spill from a wrecked ship...

 systems. These vessels are named after Portuguese coastal cities.

The first vessel, the NRP Viana do Castelo (P360), was commissioned on March 2010 after several years of delay.

The Viana do Castelo was temporarily commissioned with an old 40mm gun, but the Portuguese navy is already acquiring
two 30mm Oto Melara Marlin for the first two vessels.

Ships

Pennant Pennant number In the modern Royal Navy, and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth, ships are identified by pennant numbers...	Name	Version	Laid down	Shipyard Shipyard Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...	Launched	Commissioned	Status
P360	NRP Viana do Castelo	NPO	2004	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	October 1, 2005	March 2010	In service
P361	NRP Figueira da Foz	NPO	2004	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	October 1, 2005	June 2010	In trials
?	NRP Sines	NPC	?	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	?	?
?	NRP Ponta Delgada	NPC	?	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	?	?
?	NRP Funchal	NPO	?	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	?	?
?	NRP Aveiro	NPO	?	ENVC ENVC Shipyard Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo is a medium sized shipyard in business since 1944, located in the town of Viana do Castelo, on the Atlantic Coast in the very north of Portugal...	?	?

Armament

Armament consists of a 30mm Oto Melara

Oto Melara

Oto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of Vickers and Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the...

 Marlin or a 40mm L/60 turreted gun, and two manned mounts to be armed with 7.62mm light machine gun

Light machine gun

A light machine gun is a machine gun designed to be employed by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.-Characteristics:...

s as well as two launching systems for MK55 Mod 2 mines. The ships are designed to operate unmanned systems and are equipped with a single Sagem

SAGEM

SAGEM was a major French company involved in defence electronics, consumer electronics and communication systems.In 2005, Sagem merged with SNECMA to form SAFRAN...

 SA Vigy 10 MKIII naval surveillance and observation platform, three water cannon

Water cannon

A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-pressure stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of metres / hundreds of feet. They are used in firefighting and riot control. Most water cannon fall under the category of a fire...

s, and two rigid inflatable boats. Each ship is capable of accommodating a Super Lynx MK95 light helicopter.

External links

• Viana do Castelo Offshore Patrol Vessels Analysis, Área Militar (in Portuguese)
• Navio de Patrulha Oceânica (NPO 2000), ENVC (in Portuguese).
• Navio de Combate à Poluição (NCP 2000), ENVC (in Portuguese).
• Viana do Castelo commissioned, Diário de Notícias newspaper (in Portuguese).