Japan to Construct the World’s Largest Coast Guard Cutter Overtaking China’s CCG 5901

The Japan Coast Guard mentioned that it will commence construction of its biggest-ever multipurpose patrol vessel, a behemoth equivalent in length to 2 soccer fields in 2025 to prepare for emergencies and disasters.

This 30,000-tonne behemoth would dwarf the China Coast Guard’s CCG 5901, the current biggest Coast Guard cutter.

The construction cost will be around 68 billion yen or 471 million dollars and 3.43 billion yen has been included in the Japan Coast Guard’s budget request for the coming fiscal year.

The ship will transport supplies and protect citizens in case of a Nankai Trough megaquake or a military contingency in Taiwan.

It will also be used to thwart illegal fishing operations by foreign ships, per the Japan Coast Guard.

The patrol ship will be 200 m long and weighs 30,000 tonnes. It has a capacity three times the 6500-ton size of the Japan Coast Guard’s present largest patrol vessel.

In case of emergency, the ship can accommodate 1000 people, 3 helicopters and several rubber dinghies.

The vessel will be commissioned in 2029 and its deployment location has not been decided yet.

The Japan Coast Guard said that the new vessel would be a maritime base for security reasons but will not be used in territorial waters around Japan’s Senkaku islands, claimed by China and it will also not be fitted with autocannons.

References: Defense Mirror, Asahi