Italian shipbuilder T. Mariotti says it has been selected by the Italian defense ministry to design and deliver a new vessel that would serve as the Italian Navy’s special operations diving support and submarine rescue ship.
The new unit will feature diving and underwater exploration systems and will contribute to the surveillance and control of critical undersea infrastructures alongside the new U212NFS submarines.
T. Mariotti expects the contract for the vessel construction to be signed by the summer. Following a design phase, the official start of construction with a steel-cutting ceremony is set for 2022.
Without specifying the systems, T. Mariotti said the ship would carry modern ROVs for the search and rescue operations of national or allied submarines, a flight deck for helicopters, an integrated diving system, as well a moon pool, which is a large opening going through the deck and bottom of ships allowing tools and instruments to be lowered into the sea.
Italian defense major Leonardo will be responsible for delivering command and control systems, while Carlo Agnese and Exa Engineering will be responsible for delivering a hyperbaric simulator for training purposes.
