Castor-class patrol vessel

The Castor class is a pair of coastal patrol vessels in service with the Belgian Navy, used primarily for patrol of the Belgian exclusive economic zone of the North Sea.

History
In January 2012 Belgian Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem presented plans for the future of the navy. In these plans a budget of was set aside for two Ready Duty Ships. These plans where approved by the Belgian Government in May of that same year. Both Damen Group and Socarenam responded to an invitation to tender. Damen proposed a variant of their Stan Patrol vessel which was already in use by a number of navies. However, in December 2012, an order for two ships was placed at Socarenam for a far lower price than the initial budget. Construction of the first ship began in June 2013.

Castor was delivered to the navy in 2014. She was followed by Pollux in 2015.

In March 2023 it was revealed that the Belgian Navy is looking into acquiring a third patrol vessel which could be a third Castor-class ship. A decision is expected in summer 2023.