DEW Completes Keel-Laying for Eight Bangladesh Navy High-Speed Patrol Boats Under Licensed PT Lundin

05 Juni 2015

An artist's illustration of the BN's X12 high-speed patrol boat to be built by DEW Narayanganj. (image : DEW)

DEW completes keel-laying for eight Bangladesh Navy high-speed patrol boats

Dockyard and Engineering Works (DEW) Narayanganj, the Bangladesh Navy (BN)-owned shipyard, announced recently that it held a keel-laying ceremony for eight high-speed patrol boats for the BN.

The boats are being built to the X12 design under a technology transfer arrangement with Indonesia's PT Lundin (North Sea Boats), which secured a contract to supply 18 boats to the BN and the Bangladesh Coast Guard in 2014. The contract is valued at IDR75 billion (USD6 million), according to Indonesian media reports. IHS Jane's reported in November 2014 that this contract also has an option clause for 10 more boats.

The fully composite X12 design is based on PT Lundin's X15 patrol boat concept, itself derived from the Swedish Combat Boat 90 (CB90) concept. The use of advanced composites in constructing the high-speed patrol boats to Bureau Veritas classification rules will be a first for DEW.

PT Lundin's X12 design (what is perhaps a new monohull design) is being built in two variants for Bangladesh - a 'combat boat' version for the navy and a full cabin variant for the coastguard. PT Lundin confirmed to IHS Jane's that two X12 craft for the Bangladesh Coast Guard were completed earlier this year at its facility in Banyuwangi, Indonesia.

A graphic of the patrol boats, released by DEW, shows a full cabin superstructure instead of the truncated superstructure arrangement on the X15. At the same time, ceremonial banners and data boards from the keel-laying ceremony on 24 May clearly show the 'combat boat' variant of the X12.

The X12 boats are 11.7 m long and 3.5 m in beam, draw 0.835 m of water, displace 10.2 tonnes fully loaded, and have a top speed of 35 kt. They have a waterjet propulsion system powered by two Volvo Penta engines producing 320 kW at 3,500 rpm, which drive the waterjets through ZF gearboxes. Electrical power is provided by two 6 kW Cummins diesel generators. The boats are equipped with two 765-litre fuel tanks.

The boats are likely to be fitted with two or more machine guns - one mounted amidships atop the cabin and the other(s) mounted aft on the deck. The DEW graphic also shows a small mast-mounted radar.

While the DEW release did not provide details on delivery schedules, Indonesian media reports (citing PT Lundin sources) suggest that the boats will likely be completed in about 12 months or so, using a parallel construction approach.

(Jane's)