TRIESTE, Italy (BulgarianMilitary.com), 2 August 2018, Editor: Galina Zdravkova, Photo credit: Fincantieri/The official ceremony for the start of building of the first of the Doha class corvettes for the Qatari Navy

On 30th July 2018, the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced that the company has started building the first of the Doha class corvettes for the Qatari Navy, ordered by the Qatari Ministry of Defence within the national naval acquisition programme. The official steel cutting ceremony was held at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard and was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State of Qatar for Defence Affairs, His Excellency Khalid Bin Mohamed Al Attiyah, and the Italian Minister of Defence, Elisabetta Trenta. They were greeted by the Chairman at Fincantieri Giampiero Massolo and the CEO at Fincantieri Giuseppe Bono, learned BulgarianMilitary.com

Other attendants of the ceremony were the Staff Major General Abdullah Bin Hassan Al Sulaiti, Commander of the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, and the Chief of the Italian Navy Admiral Valter Girardelli.

Under the contract at the amount of about EUR 4 billion, Fincantieri shall deliver 7 surface vessels – 4 corvettes, 1 amphibious vessel (LPD – Landing Platform Dock), and 2 patrol vessels (OPV – Offshore Patrol Vessel), including support services in Qatar for 10 years after the vessels are delivered. All the vessels will be built in the shipyards of Fincantieri in Italy starting from 30th July 2018.

The first “Doha” class corvette is developed in accordance with the RINAMIL rules and will be capable of fulfilling various tasks, including surveillance, rescue operations, as well as warfare. The length of the vessel is 107 m, and its width is 14.70 m. it can reach the maximum speed of 28 knots. It will be have a combined diesel and diesel turbine plant (CODAD). The capacity of the vessel is 112 persons, of whom 98 – crew members. The flight deck and hangar are designed for one NH90 helicopter.

Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news from us, follow our Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ pages. Do not miss the chance to subscribe to our newsletter.

BulgarianMilitary.com