Construction starts on Finnish Border Guard’s Modified Turva-class OPV

The new vessels will be an improved variant of the FBG's OPV Turva , which was commissioned into service in 2014. (John Pagni)

Polish shipbuilder Baltic Operator held a steel-cutting ceremony for the first of two Modified Turva-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) on order for the Finnish Border Guard (FBG) at Gdansk Shipyard on 12 December.

Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku was awarded a contract for the two newbuilds in June 2022. Baltic Operator has been subcontracted to build the hulls, with outfitting taking place at Uki Workboat shipyard in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

The new vessels will be an improved variant of the FBG's OPV Turva, which was commissioned into FBG service in 2014 as the world's first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered coastguard ship.

They will be equipped with a diesel-electric propulsion system comprising four Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines supplying one Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) and two azimuth thrusters, and a 4 MWh battery system.

The two new ships will be slightly longer than Turva