BUILT IN ARSENAL DO ALFEITE, THE SMALL PATROL VESSEL ANDORINHA (P1164), OF THE “ALBATROZ” CLASS, WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE PORTUGUESE NAVY ON DECEMBER 20, 1974.
The NRP Andorinha operational life was mostly patrolling the national jurisdiction area of the Southern Maritime Zone, in missions of fishing inspection and Search and Rescue. The ship also carried out missions in the Central and North Maritime Zones.
On 30th June, 2001, Andorinha sailed up the Douro River to Peso da Régua, on a trip done only once before by a Portuguese Navy warship. The difficult river waters, demanded all the attention and skills of the navigation team. Upon arrival, as a celebration, the ship was fully dressed and had many visitors during her stay.
The ship was designed to patrol the rivers of the then Portuguese territories in Africa. However the ship never fulfilled this purpose due to the independence of the former colonies in 1974 and 1075. It was paid off by the Portuguese Navy on August 17, 2005, according to the decree law no. 872/2005.