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2015-08-01

Fincantieri to supply four OPVs to Bangladesh

Fincantieri has been awarded a contract by the Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) for the supply of four Italian Navy “Minerva” class corvettes to be upgraded and converted into Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs), and to provide the related logistics support services.

The Italian Navy, through a reselling contract executed by the Central Unit for Naval Armament and Fincantieri, has revived these units, which will be decommissioned by the Italian Navy and will be replaced by the new vessels covered by the fleet renewal program.

The last lowering of the flag of the first couple of vessels Minerva and Sibilla was held on May 14 in Augusta. On June 29, the two units arrived at Fincantieri’s dock in Genoa, where the upgrading and conversion activities started and will be completed at the naval shipyard in La Spezia. After that the units will be handed over by Fincantieri to the Coast Guard of Bangladesh.

The contract was signed by Paolo Frino, Vice President, After Sales Business Unit of Fincantieri and Mohammed Majedul Haque, Head of Planning and Sales of the BCG during a ceremony attended by Mario Palma, Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh, Mozammel Haque Khan, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Massimo De Benedictis, Fincantieri’s Regional Commercial Manager and Rear Admiral Mohammad Makbul Hossain, Director General of the BCG.

At the end of the upgrading and conversion works, which will take place in Italy and will last about two years, the vessels Minerva, Sibilla, Urania, and Danaide, whose lifespan will be extended by more than twenty years, will form the backbone of the Bangladesh Coast Guard fleet.

The vessels will be used to patrol the country’s maritime boundaries and traffic in its Exclusive Economic Zone, with capabilities to contain environmental pollution and to rescue and assist civilians in the case of humanitarian emergencies.

This agreement allows Fincantieri to provide a full range of services for both the platform and the combat system.

The Minerva Class warships are designed to maintain a good balance between superstructure and lines of the hull during sailing. Although small in size, the architecture employed in the corvette provides deck space sufficient to add more weapon systems in future.

Electromagnetic signature has also been limited in all the Minerva Class warships. Automation systems installed in the warships allow operations to be conducted from the bridge .

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