The patrol vessel ‘Isla de León’ conducts maritime surveillance operations in the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea.

• The vessel is conducting presence, surveillance, and deterrence operations in Spanish waters of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea, in support of the comprehensive protection of national sovereign waters and areas of interest.

The Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) ‘Isla de León’ (P-83) has resumed naval presence, maritime surveillance, and control operations over Spain’s sovereign and national interest waters.

This mission is conducted within the framework of the Armed Forces’ Presence, Surveillance, and Deterrence Operations - with the vessel integrated into the Maritime Operational Command (MOM, in Spanish) and under the operational control of the Joint Operations Command (MOPS, in Spanish) ; the primary objective is to ensure comprehensive security in our maritime areas of sovereignty and national interest, as well as to contribute to the protection of maritime lines of communication, maritime traffic control, and the fight against illicit activities at sea.

The Offshore Patrol Vessel  ‘Isla de León’

The patrol vessel ‘Isla de León’ is assigned to the Command of Maritime Action Force Units in Cádiz (COMARDIZ) and based in the autonomous city of Ceuta. It belongs to the Maritime Action Force (FAM, in Spanish) and is named after the Island of León, the historical island on which the city of San Fernando (Cádiz) is located.  Patrol vessel ‘Isla de León’ (P-83) is part of the ‘Toralla’-class patrol vessels, along with ‘Toralla’ (P-81) and ‘Formentor’ (P-82), based in Cartagena, and ‘Isla Pinto’ (P-84), based in Melilla.

Primary roles include maritime surveillance and naval presence in areas under Spanish sovereignty and national interest, supporting maritime security operations and assisting civilian authorities responsible for State Action at Sea.

The vessel belongs to the RODMAN 101 class; it is unique within the Spanish Navy, for its length of 101 feet (approximately 31 metres); it previously served with the Coast Guard Service of the Regional Government of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) until it was transferred to the Spanish Navy in October 2022. 

Maritime Operational Command (MOM, in Spanish) 

The Maritime Operational Command is the body within the operational structure of the Armed Forces, subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD, in Spanish), responsible, at its level, for the planning, conduct and monitoring of presence, surveillance and deterrence operations in maritime areas under national sovereignty, responsibility or national interest. It is commanded by the Admiral of Maritime Action (ALMART) and it is headquartered in Cartagena. 

Presence, surveillance and deterrence operations 

Presence, surveillance and deterrence operations are an effective tool for manteining surveillance in areas of sovereignty, which allows to early detect threats and facilitates an inmediate and viable response to a potential crisis. 

The Land, Maritime, Air, Space and Cyberspace Operational Commands (MOT, MOM, MOA, MOESPA and MOC, in Spanish), constitute the structure of Permanent Commands. On a daily basis, around 3,000 Armed Forces personnel are involved in permanent operations, under the operational control of the Operations Command (MOPS, in Spanish).