Sarzana, 4 May 2012 – The ceremony marking the handover of the first "Katanpää" class mine countermeasures vessel constructed for the Finnish Navy took place this morning at the Intermarine outfitting yard in La Spezia.
The formal documents certifying the delivery of the vessel to the Finnish Navy was signed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Navy, Admiral Veli Jukka Pennala, and the CEO of Intermarine, Livio Corghi.
The ceremony was attended by Roberto Colaninno, the chairman of the Immsi Group which controls Intermarine-Rodriquez Cantieri Navali, and Captain Pupillo representing the Commander-in-Chief of the Alto Tirreno Department, as well as the engineers and workers of Intermarine and Finnish Navy officers.
"The vessel handed over today to the Finnish Navy is a remarkable combination of construction technology and on-board equipment, one of the most advanced naval vessels built to date,” said Roberto Colaninno. "Intermarine is the world’s leading constructor of this type of highly complex and sophisticated vessel. Unfortunately, the shipyard’s impressive technological expertise has not been accompanied by territorial conditions assisting the production process: on the contrary, extraordinary efforts had to be made to overcome a number of environmental difficulties." The official handover of this first vessel is an event of enormous importance for Intermarine, marking the conclusion of a long and difficult construction process affected by a series of environmental setbacks, including three floods, which delayed normal production.
With the successful completion of the trials, today Intermarine is able to deliver to the Finnish Navy the first of three highly sophisticated 52.5 m ships representing the cutting edge of mine countermeasures vessel construction worldwide.
The Finnish order further strengthens Intermarine’s role as the leader in the sector: the Immsi Group’s Sarzana shipyard has already built 41 vessels of this type for the navies of seven countries, including Italy, the USA and Australia.
The three Katanpää class vessels, the contract for which was signed in Helsinki in November 2006, are the result of a long period of fine-tuning and adjustment to the Intermarine basic project to meet the customer’s specific requirements.
The Katanpää class vessels present specific operating features for the particular requirements of the Finnish Navy, including the ability to navigate through ice and a “Mission Suite” configuration, an innovation with respect to other mine countermeasures vessels.
The vessel delivered today has been designed to take part in international missions where maximum communication and interaction with other units is required as part of the designated tactical plan, and for hydrographical operations.
For more information: Intermarine Press OfficePaola VettoriTel. +39 0187 617551 - Email: p.vettori@intermarine.it Immsi Group Press OfficeRoberto M. ZerbiTel. +39 02.319612.15/16/17/18 - Email : roberto.zerbi@piaggio.com - press@piaggio.com