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Chilreu / SEGEMAR / Freire - Patrol Ship, High Seas

There is some confusion as to the class nomenclature of these vessels. The were a total of four High Seas Patrol vessels converted from the hulls of a fishing vessels, the first being the Chilreu, and then another three of slightly different design. The Spanish Navy considers all four to be of a single Chilreu class, others might refer to them as SEGEMAR ships. Other sources take the Chilreu to be the single member of the Pescalonso class, after the name of the fishing trawler, while the later three are classed as belonging to the Freire class, after the Construcciones Navales P. Freire, S.A., yard at which they were converted.

These ships work in close collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Sea [Secretaría General del Mar - SEGEMAR] in surveillance missions and fisheries inspection, both domestically and overseas. They give support to the Spanish fishing fleet, the second largest in the world, in areas to be determined. In addition, its mission performance to crimes at sea, as fish illegally in Spanish territorial waters or any other crime related to maritime safety. It has capacity for transporting a marine operating group of up to 16 people.

Unlike quintessential combat ship, a frigate, these ships do not have missiles or guns, the best known and most powerful weaponry currently. Instead they have an armament for self defense, enough to repel any unforeseen threat that can be carried out in the sea. In total they have a pair of 12.7 mm machine guns MG and different portable weaponry as CETME rifles, pistols, shotguns, etc.

The "Alboran" (P-62), second ship of "SEGEMAR ships", was built by Freire in Vigo, from the hull of the fishing vessel "Trimbel", acquired by the then Secretary General of fisheries, belonging to the Ministry of agriculture and fisheries, to supplement patrol "Chilreu" in fisheries, after the "Halibut Guerra" monitoring missions. Its construction started in February 1994, it was purchased by the Secretaria General de Pesca in 1996 and launched in May of that same year, with delivery to the Navy in January 1997, superseding the old tug "Cartagena" in the official list of ships of the Navy.

The manning of the Alboran is composed of 37 men and women. There are a total 8 officers, 6 NCOs, and 23 first corporals, corporals and sailors. All this staff has trained previously in schools as the school Naval military Marin, San Fernando's noncommissioned officers school, or the school Antonio seat of Ferrol, although many of the here present several years ago that they finished their training and carry much of its service life dedicated to boats.

Every year there are various operations programmed for ships that collaborate with SEGEMAR, in particular carried out missions of surveillance and fisheries inspection in areas of international regulation such as NAFO (North Atlantic Fishing Organization), near Canadian waters, or the NEAFC (North Esat Atlantic Fishing Commission), front of the exclusive economic zone of Iceland, or in favour of other organisations regulating fishing as the campaign of the bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean in favor of the case. Also operations in favour are exclusively made from the activity of the Spanish fishing fleet in the national fisheries or as the campaign of the tuna in the Gulf of Biscay and in waters to the South of Ireland. Likewise, in a complementary manner he collaborates in the maritime surveillance missions assigned to the maritime action force.