The ''Meteoro-class'' offshore patrol vessel, also known as Buque de Acción Marítima (BAM), are new modular

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

adapted to different purposes from a common base, manufactured by

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding company, which offers its services to both military and civil sectors. It is the fifth-largest shipbuilder in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world with shipyards around the globe. The heir to t ...

. The BAMs combine high performance with mission versatility, a high commonality with other ships operated by the Spanish Navy. Acquisition and lifecycle costs are reduced.

Description

The BAMs are a common platform for a variety of missions, used to develop whole families of types of ships that meet the diverse needs of the Navy. Its main missions are: * Protection and escort of other ships in low intensity/asymmetric warfare situations * Control of maritime traffic * Control and neutralization of terrorism and piracy * Operations against drug trafficking and human trafficking * Search and rescue * Support for crisis situations and humanitarian aid * Control of fishing laws * Control of environmental legislation and anti-pollution. Modular design enables the ships to be modified for purposes outside main missions such as hydrographic research, intelligence gathering, diving support and salvage operations.

Building

The BAM project consists of 12 vessels.

First phase

The first phase included the construction of six patrol boats. This phase was completed in January 2019 after twelve years.

Second phase

Like the first phase, this second is composed of six units. four of them are patrol boats and the two remaining are specialized BAMs, one oceanographic and the other underwater rescue. Characteristics of the Oceanographic BAM * Flight cover for medium helicopter (Lynx) without hangar. * Transportation personnel: 20 Scientists. * Scientific Premises: Biological, Humid with Cava, Electronic, Geological, Meteorological, Photographic laboratories. * Drawing Room, Data Center, Local Electronic Equipment, Electronics Workshop, Diving Room with Hyperbaric Chamber, Probe Local and Transducer Site. * Local Gravimetry, Spare Cloths, Oceanography Warehouse, Water Clothing Store. * Probe nacelle, transverse propellers in bow and stern. * Davits and Chigres: Popa Porch for Oceanography and Sónar Towed, Lateral Davit for Rosettes, Lateral Davit for Plankton Extraction. * Possibility of stowing scientific containers in Toldilla Deck. * Side Scanning Sónar VDS (Medium / High Frequency) and Sónar / Parametric Probe. Characteristics of the Characteristics of the Underwater Rescue BAM * Rescue and support to the rescue of submarines. The new rescue vessel will be known as the BAM-IS (Intervención Subacuática/Underwater Intervention). * Support for diving operations. * Intervention and rescue in accidents and

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...

s. * Surveillance and monitoring of the heritage (of growing interest in litigation with the Odyssey by the frigate "

Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes (''Our Lady of Mercy'' in English, a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria. Loss At the time of the naval ...

" between 2007 and 2012). *

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

operations. * Transport of personnel and material. * Fight against pollution.

History

Construction began on 4 October 2007 with the cutting of the first sheet and was placed on the stands the first on 13 March 2009, in the shipyard San Fernando. The budget was €352m but the final cost was €488.4m for four units (~US$160m each). In June 2009, the Secretary of State for Defence and

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

confirmed the construction of a second batch to replace older patrol boats of the ''Anaga'' (3), ''Toralla'' (2), (4) and the now-retired ''Barceló'' (6) and ''Conejera'' (4) classes. In September 2010, the Ministry of Defence said a contract would be signed with Navantia for four additional vessels to be delivered by 2015, but the contract has yet to be signed. Navantia has indicated that the Batch 2 vessels will be more modular, with the potential to switch between oceanography, intelligence gathering and search-and-rescue. One will be a diving support vessel, and one will be a research vessel for hydrography and logistical support in the Antarctic. The acquisition of two vessels, to enter service in 2019, was formally approved by the Spanish cabinet on 18 July 2014 at a cost of €166.74m (US$224m) each.

Ships

References

This article contains content from the Spanish Wikipedia.