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Navy Coastal Inspection (LFC-2005)

On 05 June 2023 Portugal put out to international competition the construction of six OPVs, to complement the four incorporated between 2011 and 2018, the so-called Viana do Castelo class. From what is heard on the other side of the Miño, it seems that they are going to be larger than the Viana do Castelo class, but nothing more. As it is an international competition, ther usual suspect should show up, as in other times. Joao Coutinho built three of the six corvettes for Portugal. At the moment little more, except to deduce that they do not want a repetition of the Viana do Castelo ordeal.

The Navy Coastal Inspection (LFC) Lanchas de Fiscalização Costeira (LFC) coastal patrol boat program was contract signed on 17 November 2004 and framework agreement signed on 19 December 2005, providing for deliveries to be carried out between 2006 and 2011.

Due to delays in the NPO program, no delivers materialized. According to the LPM approved in July 2006, three other units were planned to replace the two canceled NPOs. This new class of coastal launches had as its mission to patrol and supervise the national waters and EEZ, to carry out search and rescue operations, to act in catastrophic situations, to design special operations forces (being able to embark a speed boat of assault), support of divers and to the war of mines, besides naval presence and training. The specification indicates that they are technologically very advanced and unusually well equipped ships of their kind, especially in view of their size and assigned tasks. They were intended to replace the Cacine-class patrol vessels, though double in size.

At the end of 2005, the Portuguese Navy ordered a total of eleven newbuildings from the Estaleiros Navais of Viana do Castelo (ENVC) as part of the PRAN (Programa Relativo a Aquisicao de Navios Destinados a Marinha Portuguesa) fleet renewal project.

First, there were six 1,600-ts Offshore Patrol Vessel NPO-2000 (Navio de Patrulha Oceanica). They were all to be delivered by 2014; thereafter, as an option, a follow-up order for two additional units optimized for environmental protection was in prospect. ENVC also started work immediately, and with VIANO DO CASTELO and FIGUEIRA DA FOZ, two ships are already in service. The other four would not come for another decade.

In addition to the six NPO-2000, ENVC was supposed to build five more LFC-2005 (Lancha de Fiscalizacao Costeira) in 2005 . The 60-m (700 ts) boats were to perform tasks in the surveillance of the coastal apron and the economic zones as well as in the SAR service and fishery protection in replacement of the four well-50-year-old CACINE class wake boats. Originally, ENVC was supposed to supply the first of these boats as early as 2008; the last one was in 2011.

The LFC technical project was carried out by a team of ECN Officers - Navy Shipbuilding Engineers and ENVC, constituting the need to equip the Navy with a robust and modern design platform, but lighter and more economical to operate than NPOs in associated with the territorial sea and contiguous zone, for a period of up to 10 days.

In particular, it was intended to maintain the basic characteristics of the "Argos" and "Centauro" class, with regard to the lack of trim and incorporation of armaments and sensors, to maximize automation, good habitability and the ability to navigate at full speed with "Force 5" sea conditions, provide a versatile diesel propulsion system and a mixed balance stabilization system to improve the dynamic behavior of the ship at sea at various speed regimes.

At the end of October, media reported that their construction had been canceled under strict austerity measures. However, the start of construction has been postponed - first to 2009, then to 2012. It seems that not a single LFC-2005 is yet under construction, and the precarious financial situation suggests that the project will remain frozen - if not completely deleted.