VIKING to Build Seven Magnar 1950 Patrol Boats for Greece

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment has signed a €23.8 million contract, through its Greek company VIKING Life-Saving Equipment Hellas, to supply seven high-speed patrol vessels to the Hellenic Coast Guard. The VIKING Norsafe Magnar 1950 boats will be built entirely in Greece, with an option for up to seven more of the same type. Deliveries are due to begin within six to 12 months, with the vessels handed over in sequence.

 

Contract Signing in Athens

 

Greece's Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Vassilis Kikilias, signed the contract at a ceremony at the ministry in Athens on 26 October 2026, attended by Coast Guard officials and VIKING representatives. VIKING announced the deal on 9 November. The agreement covers seven vessels, and if Greece exercises the option for seven more, the total would rise to 14 patrol boats. Greece's Public Investment Program funds the procurement under the co-financed "Fisheries, Aquaculture and Sea 2021–2027" program.

The contract includes a warranty covering four years or 6,000 operating hours on the main engines, whichever comes first. Covered maintenance and repairs will be carried out at no extra cost to the Coast Guard. Warranty terms like these reduce early lifecycle costs and help the Coast Guard plan vessel availability with more confidence. Kikilias urged all parties to keep to the agreed schedule so that phased deliveries can begin on time.

 

Vessel Specifications

 

Each Magnar 1950 measures 21.29 meters in length and reaches a top speed of at least 50 knots, with a range of more than 320 nautical miles. The boats will operate with a crew of six and can carry at least 30 people, an important capacity for rescue operations involving large numbers of survivors. They will be fitted with modern navigation and communication systems. The combination of high speed and useful range suits rapid interception and long patrols across the Aegean.

The vessels will support the Coast Guard's core missions. These include surveillance of Greek waters, protection of maritime borders, fisheries control, action against illegal activity at sea, and search and rescue. Greece's long coastline and thousands of islands place heavy demands on its patrol fleet. Fast, capable boats allow the Coast Guard to respond quickly across a wide area.

 

Built in Greece

 

The seven vessels will be built at VIKING's facility in Thebes, northwest of Athens. Greece is one of five countries where VIKING has manufacturing facilities. Local construction supports Greek shipbuilding jobs and skills, a point both the government and the company emphasized at the signing. Kikilias has argued that strong domestic shipyards are essential to Greece's long-term maritime self-sufficiency.

John Georgiadis, Tenders and Projects Director for VIKING's Defense and Professional business, said the contract builds on more than a century of VIKING boatbuilding expertise and the skills of its team in Greece. He said building the vessels locally reflects the company's commitment to Greek shipbuilding and to the people who protect lives at sea. Heidi Bjerge Nüsser, VP Defense, Wind and Aviation, said the contract is significant for both the business unit and the company as a whole. She added that it broadens the range of vessels VIKING supplies to the Coast Guard.

 

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VIKING's Track Record With the Coast Guard

 

The order adds to a long relationship between VIKING and Greek maritime services. In 2023, VIKING's Greek subsidiary secured contracts to supply 31 patrol boats and three high-speed boats to the Hellenic Coast Guard. The company has also delivered ambulance boats to the Coast Guard for medical transfers between islands, along with rigid inflatable boats for the Hellenic Navy. The Magnar 1950 contract extends that portfolio into larger, faster patrol craft.

Repeat orders reflect the Coast Guard's confidence in VIKING's delivery record and its local production base. Having builder, service and support in the same country simplifies maintenance and spare parts over the vessels' service lives. For VIKING, best known for life-saving equipment such as liferafts and lifeboats, the order strengthens its position in the defense and professional vessel market. The Greek business has become an important part of that strategy.

 

Coast Guard Modernization

 

Kikilias described the procurement as another decisive step to support the men and women of the Coast Guard, aiming to make their work easier as they face current and future challenges. He placed it within a wider modernization effort that includes tenders for artificial intelligence, drones, sensors and other new systems and infrastructure. The Coast Guard faces sustained pressure from migration flows, border surveillance duties, and search-and-rescue demands in the eastern Mediterranean. Newer, faster boats are central to its response.

Greece has steadily renewed its coast guard fleet in recent years, often with support from EU co-financing programs. In 2025, it commissioned five new fast patrol boats built by Finland's Marine Alutech. The Magnar 1950 order continues that renewal while favoring domestic construction. Taken together, these purchases show Greece investing in both maritime security and its national shipbuilding base.