The Oriku (Orik) is a patrol vessel of the Albanian Navy Brigade, built at the Pashaliman Naval Base in Vlorë

Vlorë

Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

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The ship was named for Oriku, an ancient city which once occupied its area.

The shipbuilding project of the Coastal Ships, which will provide the Coast Guard with four vessels of the Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel

Damen Stan 4207 patrol vessel

The Damen Stan Patrol 4100, Damen Stan Patrol 4207 and Damen Stan Patrol 4708 are three related designs from the Damen Group, a Dutch shipbuilding firm.The Stan 4207 design are patrol vessels.They are wide, and can travel at 22 knots....

 design, is one of the most important projects of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Albania

Ministry of Defence (Albania)

The Ministry of Defence is part of the Albanian government responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the Albanian army. The current minister is Arben Imami of the Democratic Party of Albania....

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These vessels, for which the construction of the supporting infrastructure is also foreseen, will support the mission of the Coast Guard and Search and Rescue Operations. The project, which is the result of an agreement between the MoD and the Dutch company Damen Shipyards

Damen Group

Damen is a Dutch shipbuilding company which was founded in 1927 by Jan and Marinus Damen in a self-built workshop. In 1954 their 200th ship was delivered.-History:...

, with a value of around 31 million euros, is financed 65% by the Albanian government, with the 35% balance delivered by the Dutch government under the ORET program.

Albania joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in February 2011.
Balkan Insight

Balkan Insight

Balkan Insight is a publication of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network , that focusses on news, analysis, commentary and investigative reporting from southeast Europe...

suggested there was a connection between Albania updating its fleet with this class of vessels and its membership in NATO.

The first ship of the STAN PATROL 4207 project, which bears the name Iliria P-131, was produced in the Netherlands and handed over to the Albanian Coast Guard in August 2008.
Production of the project's second ship, which is the first produced in the Pashaliman Shipyard, was begun in May 2009. The ship that bears the name Oriku P-132 will be commissioned in late November 2011. The third ship, Lisus P-133, will be operational in 2012, and the fourth, Butrinti P-134 in 2013, the year that marks the completion of this program.