1 Photo
Regional Commander of Marine (MAR) Ng Cheuk-hang led officers from MAR, Information Systems Wing (ISW) and Marine Department to visit Beijing between April 22 and 26, and to attend the contract signing celebration ceremony for the procurement of 12 Versatile Patrol Units (VPUs) and two Mobile Response and Command Platforms (MRCPs). The officers also met the leader of the Bureau of Equipment & Technology Co-operation, Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, and toured the China Classification Society and a research institute in Lianyungang to study the national export policy for police vessels, certification and testing procedures for intelligent and autonomous vessels and the latest development of autonomous vessels.
MAR is proceeding with its largest Fleet Replacement Programme in history, under which over 100 police crafts will be replaced. The VPUs and MRCPs being procured this time, which are 37m and 41m in length respectively, will become the largest patrol vessel in MAR and the backbone of MAR’s fleet.
The two contracts were awarded to China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. which co-operated with CSSC Guangzhou Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. and Afai Southern Shipyard (Panyu Guangzhou) Ltd. respectively. All companies are subsidiaries of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd. (CSSC), one of the largest shipbuilders in the world. This is the first time for police craft to be built by a state-owned shipbuilding company, denoting a watershed moment for MAR. CSSC will provide the Force with advanced technologies, modern and fit-for-purpose craft for facing the challenges in maritime policing.
