Fincantieri to build up to 3 multi-role OPVs for Italian Coast Guard

Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri has signed a contract with the Italian Coast Guard for the design and construction of a multi-role offshore patrol vessel (OPV), with the option for the construction of 2 additional units.

The order, finalizing the tender procedure, is worth around €80 million and it envisages the construction of one multi-role offshore unit, the related 5-year temporary support service. The deal was signed in Rome on 15 November at the headquarters of the General Command of the Harbour Authorities – Coast Guard.

As informed, the new ship will be able to operate in long-range deep-sea missions, with a logistical autonomy of at least 20 days, exceeding 4,800 miles, in which – thanks to the on-board technologies and advanced communication and discovery systems – it will be able to also take on the leading role of coordinating air and naval assets in the operation areas.

With a total length of about 85 meters, the vessel will be equipped with an azimuth-type electric propulsion system (two azipods), powered by an electrical generation plant, and to two bow thrusters for dynamic positioning, which are expected to improve the unit’s environmental sustainability.

The flexibility and the multi-role capacity of the ship will be provided by the presence of a large working deck with off-shore cranes and a boarding ramp for wheeled vehicles, together with the flight deck allowing the landing and take-off of helicopters.

Whats is more, the OPV will feature a dedicated rescue zone with related inflatable boats with rigid keel (rigid hull inflatable boat), the anti-pollution systems (rec-oil), the hospital area and other equipment.

“We are proud to help contributing once more to expand and enhance the operational capabilities of our Coast Guard with a vessel built to carry out a variety of different missions,” Giuseppe Bono, Fincantieri CEO, commented.

“The Coast Guard is growing in step with the development of the Italian shipbuilding industry” added Admiral Nicola Carlone, Commander General of the Coast Guard, “a necessary development for an organization with a strong technological, professional and operational character that has come to establish itself as an excellence of our Country, also recognized internationally”.

Thanks to its features, the new unit will be able to fulfill different missions assigned to the Coast Guard by the state laws, ranging from sea rescue to maritime safety, from marine conservation to fish resources protection, as well as civil protection. Under the agreement, Italian company Cantiere Navale Vittoria will operate through a temporary grouping of companies (RTI).

The project combines the Coast Guard’s needs with the experience acquired with the patrol vessels Ubaldo Diciotti and Luigi Dattilo, delivered by Fincantieri in 2013 and 2014.