25.08.2009
The first of three coastguard vessels of the Barents Sea class was taken into operation this weekend. The vessel is an ice strengthened multi-purpose vessel which can be used both as a tugboat to assist bigger boats in addition to fish-inspection in Norway's Arctic waters.
The vessel will get a main role within fishery inspections, oil spill prevention, tug boat capacity and for search- and rescue operations, says Chief of the Norwegian Coast Guard, rear Admiral Arild-Inge Skram quoted by the Norwegian military's website.
KV Barentshav will also be a part of the rescue capacity in case of submarine accidents.
The hull of the vessel is built in Romania, while the assembling of the vessel was done by the
Myklebust yard in western Norway.
KV Barentshav is the first coastguard vessel to run on natural gas instead of diesel oil.
The new coastguard vessel is currently on its way from the naval yard to its new homeport, the Norwegian Coast Guards base at Sortland, Northern Norway. You can follow the vessel by checking its sailing route at MarineTraffic.com.
KV Barentshav is 92 meters long, 16 meters breadth and has a crew of 20 sailors.
Two similar vessels,
KV Bergen and
KV Sortland will be delivered to the coast guard later.
Source:
, photo:
KV Barentshav
