The Japan Coast Guard said it will begin construction of its largest multi-purpose patrol ship yet – a behemoth about the length of two football fields – in fiscal year 2025 to prepare for disasters and emergencies.

The total construction cost will be around 68 billion yen (US$471 million), of which 3.43 billion yen is included in the Japan Coast Guard’s budget request for the next fiscal year.

The ship is designed to transport supplies and protect Japanese citizens in the event of a mega-earthquake in the Nankai Trough or a military emergency in Taiwan.

The ship will also be used to thwart illegal fishing activities by foreign vessels, the Japanese Coast Guard said.

The patrol vessel will be about 200 meters long and weigh 30,000 tons. It will have a capacity three times the 6,500 tons of the Japan Coast Guard’s current largest patrol vessel.

In an emergency, the new ship can transport 1,000 people and take up to three helicopters and numerous inflatable boats on board.

Commissioning is planned for the 2029 financial year. The location has not yet been decided.

The Japanese Coast Guard said the new ship would serve as a “maritime base” for security purposes, but it would not operate in the territorial waters around Japan’s Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China, and it would not be equipped with machine guns.