Italian Navy’s FREMM frigate ITS Carabiniere will be performing counter-piracy duties off the Horn of Africa after completing a promotional tour to Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
The Carlo Bergamini-class frigate started her “Italian industry showcase” deployment in December last year and traveled as far as Australia displaying her capabilities during at-sea maneuvers and port visits.
The tour was financed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and a number of other Italian defense contractor. Fincantieri is currently bidding for the design and construction of Royal Australian Navy’s Future Frigates with a design based on the FREMM frigate.
During her tour, ITS Carabiniere completed port visits to Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.
Now, before returning home by the end of this month, Carabiniere joined the European Union’s counter-piracy operation Atalanta. Departing Abu Dhabi on May 12, Carabiniere met up with another Italian warship already operating under the mission, Maestrale-class frigate ITS Espero.
ITS Carabiniere is the fourth FREMM frigate built within the international Italian-French program, coordinated by OCCAR (the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). The 144-meter frigates displace approximately 6,700 tonnes and are capable of reaching speeds of over 27 knots with accommodation for a 200-person crew.