SEMAR Begins Building OPV2025 “Yucatan” Class at ASTIMAR 1

Mexico’s Ministry of the Navy (SEMAR) held the keel-laying ceremony for the first OPV2025 “Yucatán” Class offshore patrol vessel, marking the formal start of a seven-ship new-generation program aimed at renewing the naval fleet and strengthening maritime law enforcement capabilities. 

The vessel will be the first of its class and is being developed with Mexican engineering, under a plan that foresees three units deployed on the Pacific coast and four in the Gulf of Mexico. SEMAR frames the initiative as part of a broader push to modernize naval capabilities and expand operational reach across areas of strategic interest.

Hybrid Propulsion and Extended Endurance Profile

According to details released around the ceremony, held at Astillero de Marina Número Uno (ASTIMAR 1) “Almirante José Luis Cubría Palma,” the OPV2025 Yucatan Class incorporates solar panels and a diesel-electric hybrid propulsion system with 15,700kW of total installed power. The platform will use two electric motors powered by three 1,000kW generator sets, enabling an operational profile that emphasizes efficiency at cruising speed.

Under that profile, the ship is designed to sail at 11 knots using two of the three generator sets for up to 25 days and more than 6,000 nautical miles for roughly 75% of its operating time. For higher-speed requirements, two 7,400kW diesel engines can be brought online, allowing the ship to reach more than 30 knots, a capability SEMAR links to improved maritime surveillance, faster emergency response, and strengthened naval presence.

SEMAR’s offshore patrol vessels are intended primarily for operations in Mexico’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and for missions that include territorial waters patrol, maritime sovereignty support, marine resource protection, search and rescue (SAR), and broader national security tasks.

During his remarks, the Navy Minister emphasized that this project reaffirms the country’s maritime vocation, strengthens the institution’s commitment, and modernizes its capabilities to better serve the people of Mexico. He highlighted the symbolic and structural importance of the keel as the foundation of the vessel, describing the moment as the ship’s “birth” and linking the program to Mexico’s maritime vocation and industrial capacity.

The keel-laying is also the first step in a four-stage construction process outlined for the program: Keel Laying and Construction, Launching, Fitting Out, and Commissioning/Ensigning.

ASTIMAR 1, where the first OPV2025 is being built, is one of SEMAR’s key naval construction and repair facilities. SEMAR’s own facility profile for ASTIMAR 1 lists infrastructure such as a dry dock and repair piers supporting large-scale maritime work in Salina Cruz, Oaxaca.