At the presence of Senator Stefania Pucciarelli, Undersecretary of State for Defence, the delivery of the corvette “Al Zubarah”, the first of the class of the same name of four vessels ordered to Fincantieri by the Qatari Ministry of Defence within the national naval acquisition program, took place today at the Muggiano (La Spezia) shipyard.
The ceremony, held in a restricted format and in full compliance with anti-contagion requirements, was attended by Three-star General Salem Hamad Al Nabit, Chief of Staff of Qatar Armed Forces, Staff Major General (Sea) Abdullah Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Commander of Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, Vice Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, Deputy Chief of Staff of Italian Navy and Giuseppe Giordo, General Manager Naval Vessels Division of Fincantieri.
The Al Zubarah class corvettes, designed consistent with the RINAMIL rules, will be highly flexible and capable of fulfilling different kinds of tasks, from surveillance with sea rescue capacities to being fighting vessels. They will be about 107 meters long, 14.70 meters wide, and equipped with a combined diesel and diesel plant (CODAD), with a maximum speed of 28 knots. The units will be able to accommodate 112 persons on board.
Furthermore, the corvettes will be capable of operating high-speed boats such as RHIB (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) through lateral cranes or a hauling ramp located at the far stern. The flight deck and hangar are sized for hosting one NH90 helicopter.
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