In early 2012, the Cape Verdean Coast Guard commissioned the small patrol ship Guardião, which was built according to the Stanaxe 5009 project by a shipbuilding company in Holland. Its distinctive feature is the use of the contours of the bow of the hull, which are referred to as "ax bow" (translated as "ax-shaped nose"), with a vertical stem. These original lines were developed by Damen specifically for the high-speed Sea Ax vessels used in oil and gas production. To date, about 60 commercial vessels and boats have already been built with bow contours. The Guardião is the second military ship in the world to feature an "ax bow". The first such ship is the patrol ship MAI 1105 Stefan cel Mare for the Romanian Border Police, built by the same Damen company on the OPV6610 project in 2010-2011. It is reported that among the clear advantages of this shape of the bow - increased seaworthiness, reduced pitching of the vessel and savings in fuel consumption, amounting to 18 percent.
In January 2010, the Cape Verdean government awarded Damen a contract for the construction of the P 511 Guardião for a total of € 10.9 million. For the construction of the ship, funds were partially allocated by the Port Authority of Cape Verde, as well as from the Dutch government to assist developing countries.
The ship's hull was built at the Scheepswerf Made shipyard in Murdik, where it was launched last year. The ship was completed at the Damen shipyard in Gorinchem. On December 2, 2011, the patrol ship was handed over to the customer. On December 20, P511 Guardião left the Dutch Rotterdam, and on December 30 he was already in Porto Grande in Cape Verde. Eight days later, it was put into operation.
If we talk about the characteristics of this ship, then attention is drawn to its steel hull, displacement of 425 tons, hull length (51, 3 meters), its width (9 meters), middle deepening (3, 2 meters), 4 Caterpillar diesel engines C32 with a power of 4324 kW, which are powered by 4 propellers, providing speeds up to 23 knots, cruising range (up to 2000 miles). The number of the ship's crew is 19 people, however, if necessary, there are cabins that can accommodate another 53 people. A fast-launching motor boat with 18 seats, which can reach speeds of up to 36 knots, will be housed in the aft part of the vessel on the ramp. The ship was handed over without weapons, but there is free space on the tank for the installation of an automatic cannon.
During the commissioning ceremony for the P 511 Guardião, Cape Verdean Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves announced that several more patrol ships of this type are planned for the Coast Guard. Recently it became known that Damen is already promoting its Stanaxe 5009 project to countries such as Malaysia and Qatar.
