Luigi Dattilo (CP940) one of two Dattilo class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) in service with the Italian Coast Guard, entered the Grand Harbour earlier this morning after USS Ross left her berth.
The main mission of the OPVs is to safeguard national interests through patrolling activities and carry out anti-pollution and rescue services.
Typical features of such vessels are the extensive range as well as sea-keeping and manoeuvrability performances, which make them highly flexible from the operational point of view.
They ship have a crew of 41 people, a top speed of 18 knots, and a range of 4000 miles. They were built at the Fincantieri Shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia. The units, which are equipped with a novel diesel-electric propulsion system, can conduct long-duration surveillance missions at low engine speeds, resulting in a range increase of up to 6,500 miles.
The two ships can carry out the following types of missions under the notion of an expanded operational field:
- Command and Control in complex scenarios
- Search and Rescue with the ability to coordinate surface and air vehicles
- civil protection operations involving the transportation of rolling stock, containers, and various materials, as well as assistance / evacuation of populations in need
- control and management of migratory flows with a shipwrecked emergency boarding capacity of over 600 people
- boarding team activities to control fishing and merchant units using four fast boarding teams
- anti-pollution with capacity to recover polluting oils (500 m 3 ) and the provision of 250 m of floating offshore booms and skimmers
- fire-fighting service in favor of ships in danger thanks to n ° 2 monitors of over 1100 m 3 / h
- towing of units with a displacement> 5,000 tons
- operational capabilities for the use of an equipped diver unit
- The vessels have a flight deck for the use of AB 412 and / or AW139 helicopters.
