In February 2009 the Republic of Malta ordered four new 21-meter inshore patrol craft from the Australian shipbuilder Austal. The new vessels, pictured here in a computer rendering, will have a maximum speed of more than 26 knots and can be armed with 7.62- and 12.7-mm machine guns. Built using a planing aluminum hull, the new vessels will help with search-and-rescue operations, counterterrorism/piracy duties, fisheries patrol, and counter-drug operations. Each ship will have enhanced crew accommodation facilities and be operated by a complement of up to eight personnel from the Maltese armed forces. All four are due to be delivered by the end of 2009.
This past December, Germany signed a contract for its third Berlin-class (Type 702) replenishment oiler. The €330 million contract calls for the new 174-meter long, 20,000-ton (full load) vessel to be built by a shipbuilding consortium made up of Bremen-based Fr. Lürssen shipyard, acting in the lead role, along with the Flensburg-based Flensburger Schiffbaugesellschaft, the Wolgast-based Peene Werft, and the Hamburg- and Emden-based TKMS Blohm + Voss Nordseewerke. The as-yet-unnamed oiler is expected in service in 2012, at which time she will be based in Wilhelmshaven, joining two older sisters of the class, the Frankfurt/Main, pictured here, and Berlin. Members of this class are able to carry 7,600 tons diesel fuel, 490 tons aviation fuel, potable and boiler feed water, lube oil, 100 tons spare parts, 230 tons of provisions, and 195 tons of ammunition.
On 17 December 2008 South Korea commissioned the Yoon Young-Ha, the first of its new guided-missile patrol boats, into service. Sometimes known as the PKM-project small fighting craft, members of this class displace roughly 450 tons and carry a complement of 40 crew members. Built domestically in South Korea, the Yoon Young-Ha has been numbered PN-711, measures 63 meters long, and can travel at 39 knots maximum speed. The Yoon Young-Ha took part in sea trials during late 2008 and is pictured here off Pusan in October. The ship is armed with four antiship missiles, a single 76-mm cannon, and a twin 40-mm antiaircraft gun mount. As many as 40 vessels of the class may eventually be built.