Patrol boat "ARNOMENDI" (P-63)

The Commanding Officer and crew of the ‘Arnomendi’ welcome you and invite you to learn more about this offshore patrol boat.

DISPLACEMENT: 1,928 tons.

LENGTH: 66.5 meters

BEAM: 11 meters

CREW: 36 + accommodation capacity for further personnel.

AIRCRAFT: Flight deck for light helicopters

Planta eléctrica: Planta eléctrica con un alternador de cola

Propulsion:

• 1 diesel engine (2,400 HP)
• 2 auxiliary engines (350 Kw)
• 1 emergency engine
• Variable pitch propeller
• 1 Fore propeller for side thrust

WEAPONS: 2 BROWNING 12.7 mm machine-guns

SENSORS: 2 Navigation radars FURUNO

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Cargo hold
• Fire-fighting equipment
• 1 cargo crane

The ‘Chilreu’-class patrol vessels like the P-63 ‘Arnomendi’, are assigned to the Spanish Navy Maritime Action Force. Their mission is to protect our national maritime interests and contribute to maintain peace, security and the wellbeing of our citizens. More specifically, and thanks to an agreement signed between the Spanish Navy and the General Secretariat for Fisheries, these patrol boats are tasked with surveillance and inspection of the designated fishing grounds and the support to the Spanish fishing fleet upon request.

Other missions include:

• Exercise control of the maritime domain
• Search and rescue operations (SAR)
• Naval presence in far-off scenarios
• Platform for special operations
• Platform for scientific campaigns

Our home port is Cartagena Naval Base. This base is the main Mediterranean logistic support hub for Spanish Navy ships and facilities.

The ship’s main assets are the two ZODIAC SR 6.3DJ craft used for fishing inspections, SAR and boarding of suspicious ships.

The ship has two ‘Browining’ 12.7 mm machine-guns and 1 MG (7.62 mm) machine-gun, as well as an assortment of portable weapons (rifles, pistols, shotguns, etc).

The ship is equipped with an operating theatre and telemedicine equipment for diagnosis and control of patients from the Defense Central Hospital.

The P-63 is also equipped with the GMDSS System (Global Maritime Distress Safety System) which operates through VHF, UHF, HF and INMARSAT Satellite.

The origin of these ships is the transfer to the Spanish Navy of the civilian trawler ‘Pescalonso’, subsequently named ‘Chilreu’. This was possible thanks to an agreement between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Shipbuilding of the remaining units of the series commenced in 1995 (‘Alborán’, ‘Arnomendi’ and ‘Tarifa’).

The P-63 ‘Arnomendi’ is the third unit built at the Freire Shipyards in Vigo. She was launched in January 2000 and delivered to the Navy in December of that year. Her sponsor was the Minister of Agriculture Loyola de Palacio. The ship was named after a Basque mountain. Her first home port was Las Palmas but was subsequently assigned to Cartagena Naval Base and now to Ferrol.

The crew of the ‘Arnomendi’ consists of 36 men and women led by a Lieutenant Commander: 7 officers, 6 NCOs, 9 leading seamen and 14 ratings.

The schedule of events is jointly organised by the Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy (AJEMA) and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. This Plan is issued at the beginning of each year. Including the other ships of the series, the campaigns average a total of 110 days at sea. These campaigns are carried out both inside territorial waters and also in areas of EU or other international responsibility.

Since her delivery, the ‘Arnomendi’ has participated in several national fishing control campaigns around the Canary Islands and Cadiz; and the bonito and red tuna campaigns in the Atlantic and Mediterranean respectively. Abroad, the P-63 has also taken part in international campaigns: NAFO (North-West Atlantic Fisheries Organization) in Newfoundland waters (2003, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022) and NEAFC (North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission) in Icelandic waters (2001, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2017 and 2019).