A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. However, large size patrol vessels are also operated by multiple navies and coastguards. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they generally range in size. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police, or customs, and may be intended for marine ("blue water"), estuarine ("green water"), or riverine ("brown water") environments. Per their name, patrol boats are primarily used to patrol a country's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but they may also be used in other roles, such as anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fishery patrols, immigration law enforcement, or search and rescue. Depending on the size, organization, and capabilities of a nation's armed forces, the importance of patrol boats may range from minor support vessels that are part of a coast guard, to flagships that make up a majority of a navy's fleet. Their small size and relatively low cost make them one of the most common naval vessels in the world. Patrol boats are of varying types, including: offshore patrol vessels (OPV), patrol boat fast (PBF), patrol boat with surface-to-surface missile (PBG), patrol boat inshore (PBI), patrol boat with SAM (PBM), patrol boat riverine (PBR), patrol boat with torpedo (PBT).
Classification
The classification of a patrol boat is often subjective, but they are generally small naval vessels that are used to patrol national waters or a certain jurisdiction. They may be as large as a corvette or even a frigate, though the term may also be used for vessels as small as a yacht or rigid inflatable boat. They can include gunboat, fast attack craft, torpedo boats, and missile boats. They may be broadly classified as inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) or offshore patrol vessels (OPVs). OPVs and medium size cutters are usually the smallest ship in a navy's fleet that are large and seaworthy enough to patrol off-shore in the open ocean, while IPVs are typically too small to do so and are instead kept in lakes or rivers, or close to coasts; IPVs specifically used in rivers can also be called "riverine patrol vessels". Large patrol vessels, offshore patrol vessels and Large cutters are the largest type of patrol ships and are typically more than 100 m (330 ft) in length. Some OPVs may possess significant armament and may approach corvettes in terms of armed capability. Seagoing patrol boats are typically around 30 m (100 ft) in length and usually carry a single medium caliber artillery gun as main armament, and a variety of lighter secondary armament such as machine guns, while others include the sophisticated close-in weapon system. Depending on their role, vessels in this class may also have more sophisticated sensors and fire control systems that would enable them to carry torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and surface-to-air missiles.
History
During both World Wars, in order to rapidly build up numbers, all sides created auxiliary patrol boats by arming motorboats and seagoing fishing trawlers with machine guns and obsolete naval weapons. Some modern patrol vessels are still based on fishing and leisure boats. The United States Navy operated the Pegasus class of armed hydrofoils for years in a patrol boat role. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Navy ordered 193 aluminum hulled Patrol Craft, Fast (PCFs), also known as Swiftboats, for brown water naval operations. The Patrol Boat, River (PBR, sometimes called "Riverine" and "Pibber") was a fiberglass hulled vessel also designed and used for inland river operations during the Vietnam War, and became an icon of water operations during the war due to its use in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now. Most modern designs are powered by gas turbine arrangements such as CODAG, and speeds are generally in the 25–30 knots (46–56 km/h; 29–35 mph) range. The largest OPVs might also have a flight deck and helicopter embarked. In times of crisis or war, these vessels are expected to support the larger vessels in a navy, though some smaller navies are mostly composed of just patrol boats.
Specific nations
Albania
==== Albanian Naval Force ==== Iliria-class patrol vessel
Algeria
==== Algerian National Navy ==== Kebir-class Alusafe 2000 Ocea FPB98 MKI
Argentina
==== Argentine Naval Prefecture ==== Mantilla-class patrol vessel Z-28-class patrol vessel Shaldag-class patrol boat
==== Argentine Navy ==== Gowind-class vessel Murature-class vessel Intrépida-class boat Zurubí-class patrol boat Baradero class patrol boat Punta Mogotes class patrol boat
Australia
Royal Australian Navy
Attack-class patrol boat (1967–1985) Fremantle-class patrol boat (1979–2007) Armidale-class patrol boat (2005–present) Cape-class patrol boat (2017–present) Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel (2025–present)
==== Australian Border Force Marine Unit ==== Bay-class patrol boat (1999–present) ACV Triton (2006–2015) Cape-class patrol boat (2013–present) – replaced all but two of the Bay-class which underwent a life extension. Two Evolved Cape-class patrol boats ordered to replace the remaining two Bay-class patrol boats.
==== Others ==== Pacific-class patrol boat (1987–2023) – Australian-built, gifted by the Australian Government to 12 Pacific Island countries (RMIS Lomor appears to be the last boat in service as of November 2022) Guardian-class patrol boat (2018–present) – Australian-built replacements for the Pacific class, gifted to the same 12 Pacific Island nations and Timor-Leste
Bahamas
==== Royal Bahamas Defence Force ==== Bahamas-class patrol vessel Legend-class patrol vessel Floral-class patrol vessel
Bahrain
==== Royal Bahrain Naval Force ==== 35m Fast Patrol Vessels- USA -built by Swiftships, Commissioned in 2021
=== Bangladesh === The Bangladesh Navy classified its medium size patrol ships as large patrol craft (LPC) which are armed with either anti-ship missiles or torpedoes. Those ships typically have heavier armaments but less range than OPVs.
==== Bangladesh Navy ==== Large patrol craft Durjoy class BNS Madhumati Offshore patrol vessel Island class ARES 150 Inshore patrol vessel Padma class Meghna class ASW patrol boat Kraljevica class Haizhui class Hainan class Patrol gunboat Chamsuri class
Bangladesh Coast Guard
Offshore patrol vessel Leader class Inshore patrol vessel Padma class Sobuj Bangla class Ruposhi Bangla class Apurbo Bangla class Fast patrol vessel Kutubdia class Porte Grande class Coastal patrol vessel Tawfique class (former PLAN Shanghai II class) Riverine patrol craft Pabna class
==== Border Guard Bangladesh ==== Patrol vessel Shah Jalal class
Barbados
==== Barbados Coast Guard ==== HMBS Leonard C Banfield HMBS Rudyard Lewis HMBS Trident
=== Belgium === Castor (in Dutch) (2014–present) Pollux (in Dutch) (2015–present)
=== Brazil === Grajaú-class offshore patrol vessel Bracuí-class patrol vessel – ex-River-class minesweeper Imperial Marinheiro-class offshore patrol vessel Piratini-class patrol vessel J-class patrol vessel Roraima-class river patrol vessel Pedro Teixeira-class river patrol vessel Macaé-class offshore patrol vessel Amazonas-class corvette
=== Brunei === Darussalam-class offshore patrol vessel Ijtihad-class patrol vessel KH 27-class patrol boat FDB 512-class patrol boat Bendaharu-class patrol vessel Perwira-class patrol vessel Saleha-class patrol vessel Pahlawan-class patrol vessel
=== Bulgaria === Obzor
Canada
==== Royal Canadian Navy ==== Kingston-class coastal defence vessel (1996–present) Orca-class patrol vessel (2006–present) Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel (2016–present) – Icebreakers based on the Norwegian NoCGV Svalbard
==== Canadian Coast Guard ==== Hero-class patrol vessel
Cape Verde
==== Cape Verdean Coast Guard ==== Kondor-class Guardiao (P511)
