Croatian Navy Takes Delivery of OOB-32 Umag Patrol Vessel
On January 17, the Croatian Navy (Hrvatska ratna mornarica) took delivery of the second Omis-class patrol vessel “OOB-32 Umag“ at a ceremony at the “Admiral flote Sveto Letica-Barba” barracks in Split. Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić, Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Tihomir Kundid, Commander of the Croatian Navy Rear Admiral Damir Dojkić, and other senior officials attended the event.
Speaking at the ceremony, Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anušić stressed that the OOB-32 Umag is only the beginning of the Croatian Navy’s modernization process. He further stated that the country had initiated the procurement process for a multi-purpose corvette to further develop its naval capabilities.
Anušić also noted that Croatia currently allocates 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to defense, adding: “The glorious Croatian Armed Forces will reach a level that will guarantee the security, unity and territorial integrity of the Croatian state and people.”
“OOB-32 Umag,” named after the city of Umag on Croatia’s Istria Peninsula, was built as part of the modernization program launched by the Croatian Ministry of Defence in December 2014. This program includes the construction of five Omiš-class vessels to replace the Mirna-class patrol boats inherited from the former Yugoslav Navy. The construction of the lead ship of the class, OOB-31 “Omiš,” started in 2015 at Brodosplit Shipyard and was delivered to the Croatian Navy on December 7, 2018. However, due to budget constraints, the construction of the other ships was significantly delayed, and therefore, the second ship of the class, OOB-32 “Umag,” has only now been received.
The remaining program ships, “Karlobag,” “Opatija,” and “Skradin,” are still under construction at Brodosplit Shipyard. If the delivery schedule is not disrupted, all three ships are planned to be delivered to the Croatian Navy in the coming months.
The Omis class patrol vessels have a compact design with a length of 43.16 meters and a width of 8 meters. Equipped with two 2525 kW Caterpillar engines and a controllable pitch propeller (CPP) system, the vessels can travel 1,000 nautical miles at 15 knots with a single fuel load. The ship, which can host 17 crew members with an essential crew of 14 and 3 additional personnel, also offers 10 days of cruising autonomy and full operational capability up to Sea State 5.
The patrol vessels provide self-defense with one remote-controlled 30mm automatic cannon, two 12.7mm machine guns, and four portable anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition to the weapon systems, sophisticated surveillance gear, such as thermal imaging, high-resolution cameras, and night-vision binoculars, is also included.