Couach press release (translated by Naval News)
This new program comes a few years after an initial order for 79 ships. It reaffirms Saudi Arabia’s confidence in the Couach shipyard’s ability to supply high-performance, robust ships.
The ships, designed and built by Couach, will carry out missions to protect sensitive infrastructure, protect maritime borders and fight piracy and smuggling, once accepted by the customer.
The 2200 FPB is 22.35 meters long, 5.6 meters wide and has a draft of less than 1 meter. Its two 895 kW engines allow it to reach a speed of 30 knots, and a cruising speed of 15 knots, with a range of 600 nautical miles at 28 knots. The ship is equipped with a 20 mm remotely operated gun fitted forward, as well as a 12.7 mm machine gun aft. An external control station is also located on the ship.
Since the start of construction in 2020, Couach has managed to keep the program’s projected schedule despite the effects of the Covid-19 health crisis, thanks to the commitment of all its teams. The production rate will soon reach its objective of one ship per month, with the last ship scheduled for delivery in early 2023.
For Couach, this program implies a workload of several thousand hours for all the company’s employees. Once the vessels have been delivered, Chantier Naval Couach will finally ensure the maintenance of the vessels in operational condition as well as all crew training operations for its client.
Michel CANTELOBRE, Deputy General Manager of Chantier Naval Couach, said:
“The launch of this first vessel is, once again, a great testimony to the know-how of Couach and all its teams. In a few months, the shipyard has launched several military vessels, a yacht, as well as the first NSH1 of the new SNSM fleet, thus illustrating our successful diversification and the recognition of our “zero defect” model by our clients, whether they are state or private”.
