Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and compatriot C.A.B.I. Cattaneo (CABI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the assessment of commercial and industrial cooperation in the field of underwater vehicles and their integration with larger vessels.
The agreement was signed by Pierroberto Folgiero and Alberto Villa , CEO of Fincantieri and CABI, respectively, in the presence of Admiral Enrico Credendino, Chief of the Italian Navy.
The MoU, which may be followed by an additional cooperation agreement to be finalized within the year, will allow underwater vehicles to be integrated with Fincantieri surface and underwater vessels, improving, thanks to this new synergy, the products that can be offered in the target global markets.
In particular, the design, construction, fit-out and setting to work of the main vessels will be the responsibility of Fincantieri, which will be the Design Authority, while CABI will take on the same role for the underwater vehicles.
The companies believe that this agreement, which may be extended to other specialist companies, can strengthen their positioning in relation to potential overseas customers.
The offering will be strengthened through the marketing of a single capacity package where, for the first time, in addition to the Fincantieri platform, there will be underwater vehicles produced by CABI, functionally and physically integrated right from the initial stages of the design of the mother ship.
Recently, Fincantieri’s joint venture Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN) signed a contract with the Italian Secretariat General of Defence and National Armaments Directorate for the construction of three next-generation offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).