HSwMS Härnösand (K33)

HSwMS Härnösand (K33) is the third ship of the Visby-class corvettes ordered by the Swedish Government and built by Kockums. The Härnösand is designed for mine countermeasures and anti-submarine warfare.

Design and description
HSwMS Härnösand is the third ship of the Visby-class corvettes. It was built by Kockums at the Karlskrona naval base, and was the first of four vessels of the class which are designed for coastal warfare.

The hull of the vessel is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, a stealth technology, in order to make the vessel difficult to detect by other forces. A minimum of external equipment is stored outside of the vessel, with equipment such as liferafts being stored inside the hull. This hull also reduces the weight of the vessel by around half. It was intended to be radar silent until it moves within 30 km of an enemy vessel, resulting in designer John Nillson saying of it, "Naval officers fall in love with [this] ship. It's not classically beautiful. In fact it looks like a lunchbox. But it has better maneuverability and can achieve that level of stealth."

Construction and career
Härnösand was launched 16 December 2004 and named by crown princess Victoria. She was commissioned on 16 December 2009.