Damen, Mexican Navy to Build Long Range Ocean Patrol Ship

Damen Shipyards Group and the Mexican Navy, via the Directorate General of Shipbuilding, are currently working together to build the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA (from its initials in Spanish).

POLA will be the Mexican version of the Damen SIGMA 10514. POLA will be 107 metres in length, with a beam of 14 metres. It will be able to sail at speeds of up to 25+ knots and a capacity of more than 20 days at sea, the company said in a statement Tuesday.

A Damen representative said, “This vessel will be capable of long range search and rescue operations and humanitarian aid. POLA will allow the Mexican state to increase its surveillance coverage and the protection of Mexican maritime interests beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone.”

Damen is transferring knowledge to the Mexican shipbuilding industry through this project. This is a process that Damen undertakes regularly via the Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC). Damen and the Mexican Navy took the decision to build two of the six modular sections of the vessel at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.

The remaining four modules will be built locally in Mexico. The construction of these modules, along with the integration, will be carried out at a yard that cooperates on this with Damen. “In this way, for the most part,” the Damen representative stated,

The vessel will be built for Mexico, in Mexico, by Mexicans. During the construction of the modules in Europe, a Mexican team is based in the Netherlands to supervise the process and to receive knowledge transfer.

The first of the Dutch modules has already arrived in Mexico, where it is being integrated by Mexican personal with two of those already built in Salina Cruz. Just fifteen months following the inking of the contract, the hull is already complete in drydock. It will now be prepared to receive the other three superstructure modules.

The flagging ceremony of the POLA is planned for November 2018. After this, a full integrated process of setting to work, commissioning, training, tests and trials will continue in 2019.

With each SIGMA vessel divided into six modules, this way of assembly allows each module to be built in parallel. For both the Mexican and Indonesian projects, two out of the six modules are built at Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) in the Netherlands.

The remaining four modules are designed to be built at local yards. Upon completion at the local yard, the six different modules are brought together for final assembly and integration with assistance from Damen.

Characteristics of the POLA
• Length: 107 m
• Beam: 14 m
• Displacement: 2,570 tons
• Speed: 25+ knots
• Propulsion: CODOE
• Range: 20+ days