Croatian Future OPV/Corvette

According to Shephard media, the Croatian Navy is expected to receive two OPVs/corvettes over the course of 12 years. The project is still in its concept phase but is expected to be initiated following the Croatian parliamentary elections in the summer of 2020. The new corvette is to be built by Croatian Brodosplit Shipyard, which revealed the first render images of the future OPV/Corvette BIS 91 in May 2020.

As of November 2022, no further details have emerged regarding the programme. The project has presumably been paused or postponed.

Programme Background

Requirements

The Croatian naval priorities came to light in late 2018, as the desire to acquire between five and ten patrol vessels between 2024 and 2026 was revealed. This included the procurement of a modular designed offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to have a helicopter landing platform.

Timeline

As of May 2020, the project was still in its concept phase but is expected to be initiated after the Croatian parliamentary elections in the summer of 2020. Despite the initial date of 2024 to 2026, Croatian defence media have reported that two ships are planned to be built over a period of 12 years. 

The Croatian Navy has failed to realise any major modernisation projects into a long-term plan over the past ten years, while the Omis-class patrol boats, which faced a year-long delay, are also not due to be completed until 2023. After this stage, Brodosplit will have more capacity to build a bigger patrol vessel. Still, the future corvette/OPV will be a significantly bigger project for a shipyard that did not build a naval ship for 16 years prior to the Omis-class.

Contenders & Bidders

The new future vessel will be built by Croatian Brodosplit Shipyard as the Omis-class patrol vessel. The OPV/Corvette BIS 91 platform design from Brodosplit was revealed in May 2020. The vessel has been designed especially for patrol missions. 

Two patrol vessels were planned with a weight of up to 1,500t. However, Brodosplit's design has a displacement of 1,800t.

Contracts Award

As of November 2022, no further details have emerged regarding the programme. The project has presumably been paused or postponed. Assuming that deliveries of Omis-class patrol boats will be completed in 2023, a final decision regarding the OPVs could be achieved not until 2024/2025.

Forecast Methodology

Programme Value & Unit Cost

Based on the size of the vessel, it has been estimated to have a unit of $55 million each based on Malaysia's Damen OPV 1800 of a similar size. This would give a programme value of $110 million spread across the 12-year expected programme length.

Construction & Delivery Timeline

Estimating a 2024 contract award date, works on the first vessel will not begin before 2025. Given the relatively low experience of Brodosplit shipyard, the OPVs will have an estimated four-year construction period. Therefore, the first ship could be delivered in 2030.