- Yes
- No
TL;DR
Coastal vessel, modern Equatoguinean corvette armed like the Pr.1331M but with more autocannons.
Overview:
Designed by the ASABA Design Centre in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, the sole Project SV-01 (or OPV-88) ship, Bata, was built at the Bulgarian Delfin shipyard in Varna in 2010. Officially called a “search and rescue” ship and meant for a “Lithuanian company”, Bata was actually ordered by the Equatoguinean Navy as a naval corvette. The ship was completed in 2012, and sailed unarmed to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, where it was fitted with the assistance of Ukrainian companies and specialists. It is armed with Soviet and Ukrainian weaponry, notably the modern Katran-M turrets, a navalized IFV turret, and is fitted with Ukrainian systems like the Cascade defence system. It can additionally carry a helicopter, likely a Ka-29 also imported from Ukraine, and has 2 RHIBS ready for launch underneath the helipad. It currently patrols the Equatoguinean EEZ, fighting piracy and the such (in fact, through the efforts of the regional and international navies, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has drastically decreased in recent years), and has had no notable events during its service, just participating in naval exercises with the USA and Russia. In 2014 it was complemented by another Ukrainian-designed, Bulgarian-built ship, the frigate Wele Nzas, which become the Navy’s flagship.
Specifications:
Armament:
1x1 76mm AK-176
2x6 30mm AK-630M
2x1 Katran-M Turrets:
- 1x1 30mm ZTM-1
- 1x1 7.62mm KT
- 1x2 Barrier ATGMs
2x22 140mm MS-227 MLRS
Displacement:
1360t standard
1780t fullLength: 87.3m
Beam: 11.8m
Draft: 4.05m
Propulsion: 2 Caterpillar C280-16 diesel engines, 13 760 hp, driving 2 shafts
Speed: 25 knots (46.3 km/h)
Range: 3500 nmi (at 12 knots)
Crew: 55
Systems:
Electro-Optical Fire Director/Camera
Kaskad Defence System
Delta-M search radar
AK-176 and AK-630 Fire Control Unit
Navigation radar
Sonar?Auxiliary Vehicles:
1 Helicopter, likely the Ka-29
Images:
Sources:
Saunders, S., & Philpott, T. (2015). Equatorial Guina. In Jane’s Fighting Ships 2015-2016 (p. 235). IHS.
http://www.navypedia.org/ships/equatorial_guinea/eqgui_es_bata.htm
https://alternathistory.com/rost-voenno-morskoj-moshhi-ekvatorialnoj-gvinei-i-ukrainskie-korni-etogo-rosta/