COTECMAR Delivers First Indigenously Designed Ocean Patrol Ship to Colombian Navy

Colombian shipbuilder COTECMAR formally turned over the Sea Patrol Vessel ARC 24 de Julio to the Colombian Navy on January 31 at Naval Base ARC Bolívar in Cartagena.

Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo Obregón, Leader of the Colombian Navy, commanded the finalizing event as the principal visitor. The 93-meter vessel, which was launched in July 2025 and finished outfitting and sea tests within 6 months, stands for the biggest battleship made and constructed totally in Colombia to day, noting a decade-long initiative in between the shipyard and the Navy from preliminary idea to shipment.

Technical Arrangement

The ARC 24 de Julio displaces around 2,000 bunches with a light beam of 14 meters and a draft of 3.9 meters. The vessel is made for extensive maritime protection procedures, consisting of patrol, monitoring, interdiction, and search and rescue goals in both Caribbean and Pacific waters. While COTECMAR has actually not launched thorough requirements on propulsion and efficiency, the vessel’s measurements position it in the typical OPV group with anticipated endurance ideal for Colombia’s substantial maritime areas.

The ship includes a trip deck with the ability of running tool helicopters, though no irreversible air travel centers seem consisted of. This arrangement straightens with Colombia’s functional demands for routine helicopter implementation as opposed to continual air travel procedures.

Building and construction taken in over 1,070 lots of steel, 11 lots of light weight aluminum, and around 90 kilometers of cabling. The vessel includes what COTECMAR calls modern-day layout options concentrated on functional safety and security, effectiveness, and prolonged life span, though certain systems have actually not been openly divulged.

Task Timeline and Industrial Effect

COTECMAR launched building in March 2023, finishing the vessel in about 2 and a fifty percent years. The job created 1,114 straight work and 2,228 indirect and caused settings throughout 343 nationwide and worldwide providers. This work impact expands past Cartagena’s commercial area, entailing Colombian production and solution business throughout the nation.

Vice Admiral Luis Fernando Márquez Velosa, COTECMAR’s head of state, defined the shipment as “a substantial presentation of Colombian skill, nationwide sector ability, and the worth of institutional partnership to develop intricate marine systems lined up with worldwide criteria.”

The vessel’s advancement started in 2016, adhering to COTECMAR’s experience structure smaller sized patrol craft and assistance vessels for the Colombian Navy. The ten-year timeline from idea to shipment shows the technological knowing contour for a shipyard transitioning from building of foreign-designed vessels to creating aboriginal layouts.

Strategic Context

The ARC 24 de Julio gets here as Colombia goes after more comprehensive fleet modernisation under its PF2030 preparing paper. The Navy is all at once handling the PES frigate program with Damen Shipyards, which will certainly supply 5 SIGMA 10514-class frigates starting in 2026. The OPV program stands for an identical track concentrated on structure residential layout capacity as opposed to licensing international layouts.

COTECMAR, established in 2000, has evolved from performing maintenance and limited construction to managing complex shipbuilding programs. The firm currently runs as Colombia’s main marine commercial base, having actually provided patrol watercrafts to Brazil, Guatemala, and Honduras while preserving vessels for local navies consisting of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The shipyard’s 186,000 square meter center in Cartagena’s Mamonal commercial area consists of 11 anchors and simultaneous lift systems. COTECMAR utilizes what it calls among Latin America’s the majority of qualified marine layout workplaces, though the ARC “24 de Julio” notes the initial big contender made totally by Colombian designers.

Colombia signs up with a minimal team of Latin American countries with the ability of making and creating ocean-going battleships locally, together with Brazil and Chile. The shipment settings COTECMAR for prospective export chances in the local OPV market, though the firm has actually not introduced any type of international orders for the layout.

The message COTECMAR Delivers First Indigenously Designed Ocean Patrol Ship to Colombian Navy showed up initially on Naval News.