The ''Thetis''-class ocean patrol vessels or ocean patrol
frigates,
/ref> also called Stanflex 3000, is a class of large patrol vessel
A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and th ...
s built for the Royal Danish Navy
The Royal Danish Navy ( da, Søværnet) is the sea-based branch of the Danish Defence force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and Greenland). ...
. The class comprises four ships, all built and commissioned in the early 1990s. The ships' tasks are mainly maintenance of sovereignty, 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 inspection and support to local (mainly Greenlandic) authorities. The operation areas are normally Greenland
Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is ...
and the Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic archipelago, island group and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotlan ...
, but the vessels also operate near Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...
on transit between Greenland and the Faroe Islands, and near Denmark.
Design
The ships each have double-skinned ice-reinforced hulls so that the ships can break through of solid ice. ''Thetis'' has undergone a conversion, first to participate in the CANUMAS-project, and later to become the fleet's flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...
, a role that ended in September 2007. Thetis is fitted with Terma C-Flex Combat Management System. The Danish Navy has retrofitted the vessels with heavy machine guns, Stinger launchers and decoy launching systems. The ships can carry and use multiple StanFlex
StanFlex (also known as STANFLEX or Standard Flex) is a modular mission payload system used by the Royal Danish Navy. Originally conceived during the 1980s as a way of replacing several classes of minor war vessel with a single class of multi-rol ...
mission modules.
In the most common role (ocean patrol), the standard base crew is 47 people and 16 conscripts
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day und ...
,
List of ships
Citations
References
* Wertheim, Eric. ''The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2005–2006; Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems''. US Naval Institute Press. Annapolis, Maryland. 2005.
External links
''Thetis'' class
(from Naval Technology)
Thetis class
(From Royal Danish Navy)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thetis class ocean patrol vessels
Frigate classes
Patrol ship classes
Frigates of the Royal Danish Navy