Shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has held a steel-cutting ceremony for the Finnish Navy’s third Pohjanmaa-class corvette.
The ceremony took place on August 26, 2025, formally marking the beginning of the construction process. With this, three of the four multi-purpose corvettes are now in production.
RMC, together with its subsidiary RMC Defence Oy, is building four Pohjanmaa-class multi-role corvettes for the Finnish Navy under the Squadron 2020 project. The corvettes are designed for operations in the Baltic Sea, including in ice conditions.
Construction takes place in a closed facility at the Rauma shipyard, which was established for this project to meet security and quality requirements. The shipyard also meets NATO security standards. The project involves cooperation with various partners and subcontractors.
“The shipyard in Rauma has made significant investments, particularly in the 2020s, in the development of its production and the capabilities of the personnel, resulting in the shipyard becoming one of the most notable builders of modern ships designed to operate in challenging conditions and especially government vessels navigating in ice,” said RMC’s CEO and President, Mika Nieminen .
“The steel cutting of the third multi-purpose corvette is yet another important milestone towards outstanding maritime performance. The learning curve of the various parties in the building of the exceptionally demanding and complex military class vessel has been noteworthy,” added Brigadier General Engineering Juha-Matti Ylitalo , Deputy Manager of Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command.
The first of the multipurpose corvettes under construction was launched in May 2025. The vessel is now undergoing outfitting.
The production of the second multi-purpose corvette started in October 2024, and at present, it is at the hull assembly stage.
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The multi-role corvettes will be 117 meters long, with a beam of 16.5 meters and a draught of 5 meters. They can reach a speed of 26 knots, or about 48 kilometers per hour, and are designed to operate with a crew of 70.
The Squadron 2020 project is scheduled to be concluded in 2029.
In July, RMC announced forming a consortium with US-based Bollinger, Canadian Seaspan, and Finnish Aker Arctic. The objective of the consortium is to win icebreaker contracts from the United States.