The ''Ægir''-class offshore patrol vessel is a class of two

offshore patrol vessels Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Of ...

serving in the

Icelandic Coast Guard The Icelandic Coast Guard (, or simply ) is the Icelandic defence service responsible for search and rescue, maritime safety and security surveillance, national defense, and law enforcement. The Coast Guard maintains the Iceland Air Defence ...

(ICG). They participated in the two later

Cod War The Cod Wars (; also known as , ; ) were a series of 20th-century confrontations between the United Kingdom (with aid from West Germany) and Iceland about Exclusive economic zone, fishing rights in the North Atlantic. Each of the disputes ended ...

s. The vessels conduct patrols,

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

, fishery inspections, general law enforcement and

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

operations in the Icelandic

exclusive economic zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

and the waters of the surrounding territories, such as

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

and

Jan Mayen Jan Mayen () is a Norway, Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean with no permanent population. It is long (southwest-northeast) and in area, partly covered by glaciers (an area of around the Beerenberg volcano). It has two parts: la ...

Design and description

The concept for the ''Ægir''-class OPV was based on the Icelandic Coast Guard experiences with ICGV ''Þór'' and . Rear Admiral Pétur Sigurðsson, commander of the ICG, set forth a requirement for a ship larger than both ''Þór'' and ''Óðinn'' and more seaworthy. The vessels were also armoured for

icebreaking An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

. Though of roughly the same design, the two ships are of different measurements. ''Ægir'' has a

standard displacement The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into wei ...

of and at full load. The ship measures long with a beam of and a draught of . ''Týr'' has a standard displacement of and the same full load displacement as ''Ægir''. ''Týr'' is long with the same remaining measurements as ''Ægir''. The two ships are powered by two

MAN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

8L 40/54

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s turning two shafts with

Kamewa AB Karlstads Mekaniska Werkstad (''trans.'' Karlstad Mechanical Works Ltd), known as Kamewa, was a Swedish manufacturing company in the city of Kristinehamn. Kamewa started as a brand name of the controllable-pitch propellers manufactured by KM ...

controllable pitch propeller Controllability is an important property of a control system and plays a crucial role in many regulation problems, such as the stabilization of unstable systems using feedback, tracking problems, obtaining optimal control strategies, or, simply p ...

s rated at . This gives the ships a maximum speed of for ''Ægir'' and for ''Týr'' with a range of at . The vessels have a 20-ton

bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. In modern usage, it also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to pre ...

-pulling winch and passive rolling tanks. The ''Ægir'' class was initially armed with a Hotchkiss cannon. However, these weapons were replaced in 1990 with the Bofors /L60 autocannon, which in turn was replaced with the 40 mm Bofors L70 in the late 2000s. Other weapons include net cutters, which the Icelandic Coast Guard used during the Cod Wars. A large crane is situated forward of the

helicopter deck A helicopter deck (or helo deck) is a helicopter pad on the deck of a ship, usually located on the stern and always clear of obstacles that would prove hazardous to a helicopter landing. In the United States Navy, it is commonly and properly refe ...

. The ships of the class are equipped with

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surface search and navigational

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

. ''Týr'' is equipped with hull-mounted

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

. The ships sport a helicopter deck aft and a

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

located between the

funnels A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

. In 1997, the helicopter deck was extended. The ships have a complement of 19.

Vessels

Construction and career

''Ægir'' was the first to be constructed, by Aalborg Shipyard in Denmark and was launched in 1967. ''Týr'' was constructed by Dannebrog Værft in Denmark and was launched on 10 October 1974. ''Ægir'' entered service with the ICG in 1968 and ''Týr'' on 15 March 1975. The ICG uses the vessels to conduct patrols

, fishery inspections, general law enforcement and

operations in the Icelandic

. In 1994, a crane was fitted in both ships forward of the helicopter deck on the

starboard Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front). Vessels with bil ...

side. In 1997, the ships underwent a refit that extended their helicopter decks and installed a

radome A radome (a portmanteau of "radar" and "dome") is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a radar antenna (radio), antenna. The radome is constructed of material transparent to radio waves. Radomes protect the antenna from weathe ...

atop the ship. In 2005, ''Ægir'' underwent a refit in Poland that improved the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and accommodations along with the installation of in-flight refuelling equipment for the helicopters. ''Týr'' received the same modifications in Poland in 2006.

Citations

References

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External links

Icelandic Coast Guard website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aegir Class Offshore Patrol Vessel Patrol ship classes