The County class is a class of

offshore patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s built for the

Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...

(JDF). Based on the Dutch

Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel The Dutch shipbuilding firm The Damen Group, designs and manufactures a range of patrol vessels, of various sizes, including the Damen Stan 4207 Patrol Vessels. The Damen Stan patrol vessel designs' names include a four digit code, where the firs ...

, the first vessel entered service in 2005. Three were originally purchased, but only one remains in service with the JDF. In 2017, an additional two vessels were purchased and both remain in service as of 2023. The Jamaican vessels are equipped with a stern launching ramp, capable of deploying and retrieving a small jet boat, for rescue or pursuit. The vessels' bridge electronics were supplied by Alphatron Marine.

Ships in class

The three original vessels of the County class are , ''Middlesex'' (2005), and . They were delivered in 2005 and 2006. Two additional ships were ordered in 2016 and commissioned the next year, also with the names and .

Service history

In 2012 the

Jamaican Fire Brigade The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) is a Department of the Ministry of Local Government of Jamaica and is the fire brigade of Jamaica. It was established in Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the fiv ...

had only one of its four fireboats operational, and had requested that the County-class patrol vessels help fill in until its more modern replacement vessels were delivered. In 2017 Nicaragua purchased the original ''Cornwall'' and ''Middlesex''. In 2019, ''Middlesex'' was purchased from the Nicaraguan Navy by the

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard The Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard (abbreviated as the SVG Coast Guard) is the maritime security and search and rescue element of the Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force. It was founded on 2 December 1980, when eight ...

and renamed ''Captain Hugh Mulzac''.

References

External links

{{Commons category inline, Damen Group patrol vessels of Jamaica Patrol boat classes Military of Jamaica