Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has launched the first of a new class of offshore patrol vessels (OPV) it is building for the Qatar Emiri Navy.
The launch of ‘Musherib’, a 63-meter vessel built under a wider seven-ship contract, took place at the company’s Muggiano, La Spezia, yard on September 18.
According to the shipbuilder, Musherib is scheduled for delivery in 2022. It will have a maximum speed of 30 knots and it will accommodate up to 38 crew members. The propulsion system has four variable pitch propellers, two to starboard and two to the left, each in line with a diesel propulsion engine. Furthermore, the vessel will be capable of operating a RHIB (rigid hull inflatable boat) through a crane located at the stern.
On the same day the Musherib was launched, Fincantieri held a steel cutting ceremony for ‘Sumaysimah’, the fourth and final corvette of the same shipbuilding contract signed in 2016.
For a total of 4 billion euros, Fincantieri will build two offshore patrol vessels, four corvettes and a landing platform dock for Qatar. The first of the Doha-class air-defense corvettes was launched in February this year.
