By YUJI MASUYAMA/ Staff Writer
August 28, 2024 at 17:47 JST
An artist's conception of the Japan Coast Guard's new patrol vessel (Provided by the Japan Coast Guard)
The Japan Coast Guard said it will start building its largest-ever multipurpose patrol vessel—a behemoth with a length of around two soccer fields—in fiscal 2025 to prepare for disasters and emergencies.
The total construction cost will be about 68 billion yen ($471 million), and 3.43 billion yen of the amount has been included in the Japan Coast Guard’s budget request for next fiscal year.
The ship is expected to transport supplies and protect Japanese citizens in the event of a Nankai Trough megaquake or a military contingency in Taiwan.
The vessel will also be used to thwart illegal fishing operations by foreign vessels, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The patrol ship will be about 200 meters long and weigh 30,000 tons. It will have a capacity that is three times the 6,500-ton size of the Japan Coast Guard’s current largest patrol vessel.
In emergencies, the new ship will be able to transport 1,000 people and carry up to three helicopters and many rubber dinghies.
It is scheduled to be commissioned in fiscal 2029. The location of its deployment has not yet been decided.
The Japan Coast Guard said the new ship will be a “maritime base” for security purposes, but it will not be used in territorial waters around Japan’s Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, and it will not be equipped with autocannons.
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