Shipbuilding in Bangladesh is still in its infancy, and the country’s few yards have only built about 40 small ships for export over the past five years, but the Western Marine facility near Chittagong has been expanding its capabilities in combination with investment from Denmark’s JGH Marine and recently delivered the offshore patrol vessel Doria to Kenya’s Ministry of Fisheries, Livestock and Agriculture.

Built at a cost of $33 million, the 54.7m long boat is powered by three MTU engines driving two propellers and a waterjet, with the propeller engines produce 4 000 kW of power and the waterjet engine 2 720 kW. This gives the 350 tonne displacement ship a cruising speed of 20- to 25-knots and a top speed of 35-knots.

A helicopter pad has been fitted on the aft deck, which can accommodate a five-ton helicopter, and accommodation has been arranged for 12 crew and up to 60 passengers. Jim Shaw