La Spezia – At the Intermarine stand at Seafuture in La Spezia, all attention was focused on the new fiberglass minesweeper project, a program that marks a technical and industrial evolution in the naval military sector. The interest was extremely high, also in light of the renewed relevance of the naval mine threat in the Black Sea, underwater sabotage like that of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and tensions that are pushing many navies to renew their fleets. And so the model of the innovative minesweeper, which offers a first visual idea of what was announced a few weeks earlier, becomes the star of the 2025 edition of the only Italian Defense event.
Many countries, in fact, are “rushing to take action” to update or replace now outdated units. Starting with Italy, which, with Intermarine, confirms itself as a benchmark in this field: the new minesweeper is born as a natural evolution of the Gaeta class, which in its time had set the international standard for this type of ship. The ship Viareggio, which we showed you in this video report, with an on-board visit, welcomed by its commander, is part of the same class.
The project, developed entirely by Intermarine, introduces construction solutions never seen before. The hull and superstructure are made of composite material, a technology that guarantees superior performance in terms of lightness, strength, and durability. Fiberglass, in particular, ensures an ability to absorb underwater shocks without structural deformations, an essential characteristic for operating in minefields or in waters subject to close-range explosions.
A minesweeper must be able to operate in a minefield without being detectable and without suffering damage from impacts or shock waves, and the composite material allows for levels of resistance and isolation that metal cannot offer.
The construction of the first unit is planned with delivery in 2029. No other country, at the moment, has shipyards capable of building hulls of this size entirely in fiberglass with similar characteristics of robustness and durability. This explains the interest shown by navies from all over the world, including nations that have collaborated with Intermarine in the past. According to what was learned by SHIPPING ITALY, in fact, the project has attracted the attention of “old customers” of Intermarine, such as the United States, Australia, Finland, Algeria, Thailand, Malaysia, and Nigeria, who reportedly held intensive talks with the company’s managers at the Seafuture stand.
Alongside the minesweeper program, Intermarine has also won a tender for the construction of a new 27-meter aluminum unit for the Coast Guard, a sign of a productive diversification that goes beyond the military sector and strengthens the shipyard’s ability to operate with different materials and technologies.
With this new project, Intermarine raises the bar even higher: after having signed the Belgian-Dutch project for a class of composite minesweepers in the past, the Italian company is now preparing to deliver a ship that represents an absolute benchmark worldwide. An achievement that confirms the Sarzana shipyard’s ability to innovate in the spirit of continuity, strengthening Italian leadership in the construction of specialized units with high technical complexity.
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