Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has handed over the third Miyako-class large patrol vessel to the Japan Coast Guard in Tamano, Okayama Prefecture.
The boat is part of Tokyo’s 2016 initiative to enhance its maritime presence amidst the increase of threats in the country’s territorial waters.
The JCG Amami (PL-204) will be stationed at the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Kyushu, from where it will handle offshore security, maritime rescue, public order, and marine resource protection tasks.
Mitsubishi is on schedule in delivering the Miyako-class vessels for the Japan Coast Guard, with the lead ship and two more sister vessels already provided between 2020 and 2024.
Under the framework’s terms, the force is expected to receive two additional ships after the Amami later this year, as well as three more by 2028.
Japan Coast Guard’s Miyako System
The Miyako-class vessel measures 117 meters (384 feet) long and is armed with two 40-millimeter machine guns.
It is fitted with four Yanmar 8EY33W diesel engines with 24,000 horsepower and two screw propellers for a top speed of more than 25 knots (46 kilometers/29 miles per hour).
The latest Miyako and its sister ships all have a carrying capacity of 3,500 tons (3,175,147 kilograms), which separates them from other patrol vessel classes employed under the Japan Coast Guard.
Days before the Amami’s arrival, Mitsubishi christened and launched the sixth Miyako platform, the JCG Daito (PL-206), in Tamano.
Increasing Military Fleet
Japan in March commissioned the naval force’s fourth and final Awaji-class mine countermeasures vessel as well as the fourth Taigei-class diesel-electric hybrid attack submarine.
In February, Tokyo inaugurated its final Hibiki-class oceanic survey ship in Okayama for acoustic-based surface and seabed monitoring operations.
In June 2024, the East Asian government launched the ninth Mogami-class guided-missile frigate under its 12-warship expansion plan by 2028.
