Chilean state-owned ASMAR Shipbuilding & Ship Repair has contracted Canada’s Vard Marine to design an amphibious and military transport vessel for the Chilean Navy.
Vard will supply the design for the ships, which will be constructed at the ASMAR shipyard in Talcahuano, Chile.
Chile’s Escotillón IV program envisions the construction of four ships to replace the LST-92 Rancagua and LST-95 Chacabuco landing ships, the AP 41 Aquiles transport and the Sargento Aldea hospital ship.
The multi-role vessels to be design by Vard will be capable of operating throughout the Pacific and Southern Ocean, performing logistic support, search and rescue (SAR) missions, troop and asset movement and deployment, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations.
They will be based on existing Vard Series 7 designs and adapted to the specific requirements of the Chilean Navy, incorporating well-dock systems for the deployment of containerized and vehicle cargo, landing craft, helicopters and rescue boats.
“This program will be our fourth successful collaboration with ASMAR, including the design of the venerable AP 41 Aquiles, one of the vessels that the Escotillón IV Program will replace,” Wade Carson, president of Vard Marine Inc., said.
