Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has launched another Miyako-class large patrol vessel for the Japan Coast Guard while also delivering a previously completed ship from the same series. The Miyako program was initiated by Japan in 2016 to strengthen maritime security amid increasing Chinese presence around the Senkaku Islands, a small uninhabited territory administered by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan.
The naming ceremony for the new vessel, JCG Suruga (PL-208), ordered in fiscal year 2022, was held in mid-February at Mitsubishi’s Tamano shipyard in Okayama. The ship will undergo final installation of propulsion systems, electrical equipment, and weapons before its official delivery later this year. Suruga represents the seventh patrol vessel produced at the Tamano facility and the eighth ship within the Miyako-class fleet.
A day after the launch ceremony, Mitsubishi also delivered another vessel, JCG Daito (PL-206), to the coast guard during an event attended by senior officials including Regional Coast Guard Commander Yusuke Ono. Daito is the fifth Miyako-class ship built at Tamano and the sixth overall platform of the program. The vessel will be assigned to the Nakagusuku Coast Guard Office under the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Okinawa, where it will conduct territorial patrols, maritime search and rescue, law enforcement, and marine environmental protection missions.
The Miyako-class patrol vessel measures approximately 117 meters in length and has a displacement of about 3,500 tons. It is equipped with two 40-millimeter naval guns and powered by four Yanmar 8EY33W diesel engines producing a combined 24,000 horsepower, enabling speeds exceeding 25 knots. The class is also expected to surpass the operational range of the earlier Shikishima-class patrol vessel, which can travel roughly 20,000 nautical miles.
