Turkish Dearsan Shipyard Launches Nigeria’s First OPV-76 Offshore Patrol Vessel
The first of two OPV-76 Offshore Patrol Vessels built by Turkish Dearsan Shipyard for the Nigerian Navy has been launched. The Nigerian Delegation, led by Nigerian Navy Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, as well as Turkish Defense Industry Agency Vice President Gökhan Uçar, Dearsan Shipyard CEO Murat Gordi, Dearsan Chairman Aziz Yıldırım, and many other guests, attended the ceremony at the company’s shipyard in Tuzla.
Dearsan Shipyard and the Nigerian Navy signed an 80-million-dollar contract in November 2021, which involves the purchase of two 76-meter offshore patrol vessels. The company officially started the construction of two OPV-76 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) under the terms of the contract on September 16, 2022, with a keel-laying ceremony. The first ship, which was launched approximately 13 months after construction began, is scheduled to be delivered to the Nigerian Navy in 2024, following outfitting activities, sea trials, and port acceptance tests. The second ship in the project is expected to be launched soon and will be ready to be delivered to Nigeria in 2024.
Dearsan’s offshore patrol vessel, OPV76, which will serve the Nigerian Navy in operations such as combating piracy, smuggling, and drug trafficking, as well as performing humanitarian aid operations in disasters, is 76.80 meters long, 11 meters wide, and has a draft of 2.9 meters. The ship’s superstructure is comprised of Sealium and AH-36 steel, and it includes a flight deck large enough to accommodate an NHIndustries NH90-sized helicopter.
These OPVs will be outfitted with Leonardo’s 40mm Marlin light naval gun, ASELSAN’s MUHAFIZ (SMASH) 30mm stabilized weapon system, two 12.7mm ASELSAN STAMP remote controlled weapon systems, and two 12.7mm manually operated machine guns. Furthermore, the ships are anticipated to be outfitted with HAVELSAN’s ADVENT Combat Management System, HAVELSAN’s Ship Data Distribution System, an Italian-made Sair-2D X-band radar produced by Gem Elettronica, and an Electro-Optical Fire Control System (EOFCS) designed for precise target tracking in maritime environments.
In addition, these OPVs are not the first contract signed by the Nigerian Naval Forces Command with Turkish Dearsan Shipyard as part of the 2021-2030 Strategic Plan. Nigeria signed a new deal with Dearsan Shipyard approximately five months ago to refurbish the Navy’s 40-year-old flagship, ARADU (F98), and to supply one Tuzla Class Patrol Boat. Nigeria has also purchased Bayraktar TB-2, TOGAN and SONGAR unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as six T-129 attack helicopters from Turkey, with whom it has recently increased defense industry relations. Some of these orders have already been delivered to Nigeria.