VESSEL REVIEW | Lilibet – New fisheries patrol boat for Falkland Islands’ waters

The Falkland Islands Government recently placed a newbuild fisheries patrol vessel into service.

Designed by Netherlands-based the Damen Shipyards Group and built in Vietnam, Lilibet will be operated by UK security consultancy Seagull Maritime via local company Larus Dominicanus, though the vessel will be UK-flagged. It will also be used for secondary missions such as search and rescue (SAR) and firefighting, thanks to the installation of a monitor, stretchers, and rescue nets.

The vessel has a length of 50 metres, a beam of nine metres, a draught of 3.6 metres, and a gross tonnage of 485. The prominent bow utilises Damen's proprietary wave-piercing design to ensure improved seakeeping even in strong winds and heavy seas. The wheelhouse meanwhile provides a full 360 degrees of visibility and also has forward-angled windows to reduce glare.

The propulsion system delivers a top speed of 28 knots while a cruising speed of 10 knots will enable the vessel to sail up to 10,000 nautical miles. Patrols at cruising speed will allow the vessel to stay out at sea for 42 days, though the onboard stores can house up to sixty days' worth of provisions.

Although the vessel will be unarmed in its routine patrol configuration, it nonetheless retains port and starboard mounts for 12.7mm machine guns, and a number of patrols will be conducted with embarked Falkland Islands Defence Force personnel equipped with automatic weapons. To aid in its enforcement missions, the vessel has deck space and a stern launch and recovery ramp for a fast 10-person rigid inflatable boat (RIB).

The vessel also has high-bandwidth communications infrastructure, so that fisheries officers on board have full access to the databases and records maintained at their shore facilities. The electronics suite also includes a JRC radar and equipment from Intellian.

Lilibet will be deployed in the waters of the Falklands' exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in fulfillment of a 15-year charter for the provision of fisheries enforcement services. It is in this role that it replaces Protegat, an older patrol boat that was originally built as a fishing vessel. The new boat's standard operating profile will also entail monitoring and reporting on foreign-flagged fishing vessels in the Falklands' EEZ. As the boat's jurisdiction covers only Falklands-flagged vessels, these vessels may be boarded and inspected as needed.

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