''Atalaya'' (P-74) is a of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

built in 1991. The ship's primary missions are oceanic patrol, fishing control, escort, and maritime rescue. Its

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

is at the La Graña Naval Station in

Ferrol Ferrol may refer to: Places * Ferrol (comarca), a coastal region in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain * Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia, Spain ** Racing de Ferrol, an association football club * Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in ...

Description

''Atalaya'' is an offshore patrol vessel with a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 1,200 tons. It is 68 m (223 ft 1 in) long, has a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Radio beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially lo ...

of 10 m (32 ft 10 in), and a draught of 3 m (9 ft 10 in). It is powered by two MTU engines which supply 7,500

horsepower Horsepower (hp) is a unit of measurement of power, or the rate at which work is done, usually in reference to the output of engines or motors. There are many different standards and types of horsepower. Two common definitions used today are t ...

(5,600 kW) to two variable-pitch propellers for a maximum speed of 20

knots A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines. Knot or knots may also refer to: Other common meanings * Knot (unit), of speed * Knot (wood), a timber imperfection Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film * ''Kn ...

. It is equipped with a single 3-inch (76 mm) gun and two 12.7 mm Browning machine guns, and has a crew of 48. Its

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

can receive medium

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

History

The ship was built by

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

in the company's shipyards at Ferrol, and was commissioned by the Spanish Navy on 29 June 1992. In April 1995, ''Atalaya'' was sent to the Northeast Atlantic during the bloodless

Turbot War The Turbot War (; ) was an international fishing dispute and bloodless war, bloodless conflict between Canada and Spain (with the European Union) and their respective supporters. On 9 March 1995, Canadian officials from the Canadian Coast Guar ...

with Canada. It relieved its sister ship '' Centinela'', and remained in the area until it was relieved by the returning '' Vigía'' on 6 May 1995. It returned to the area from 13 to 31 June. ''Atalaya'' provided maritime security for the 33rd

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

from 8–10 February 2010. The ship was involved in an incident on 3 May 2011 off the coast of Gibraltar, when it signaled a merchant ship at anchor to leave Spanish waters. However, Gibraltar maritime authorities instructed the merchant ship to remain at anchor and told ''Atalaya'' that Spain did not have jurisdiction over those waters. The British patrol boat HMS ''Scimitar'' was dispatched to the area and escorted ''Atalaya'' away. In August 2015, ''Atalaya'' intercepted and boarded a sailboat off the

Azores Islands The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atlant ...

and confiscated of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

that was in transit from South America to Galicia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atalaya Serviola-class patrol boat Ships built in Spain 1992 ships