Navarm, or the Naval Armaments Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, launched a preliminary market consultation in mid-July to acquire a used unit on the secondary market to be refitted and then employed as a “Multipurpose Unit for Underwater Dimension Surveillance,” abbreviated as UPSDS, or as a naval vessel for transporting autonomous and non-autonomous underwater and surface surveillance systems.
More precisely, the procedure aims to verify whether—beyond Fincantieri, whose capabilities and expertise are already known and established—there are other suppliers capable of ensuring the availability of the unit, which must be in the hands of the Navy, already fully refitted, by the next February 26 or in any case within 120 days of contract signing.
On the table, the ministry has placed an estimated budget of 50 million euros, for a vessel and a supplier that—as clarified in the document—must have well-defined characteristics.
The latter, holding the design authority of the ship, must possess the capability to overhaul the onboard systems. The unit—classified as an Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV) according to IACS—must, among other things, have DP2 positioning systems, a working deck of at least 2,560 square meters, a 40-ton crane, at least 500 meters of cable, an anti-heeling system, a width between 18 and 22 meters, an overall length between 75 and 110 meters, at least 60 berths, and more. Built no later than 2015, it must also be capable of reaching a maximum speed of at least 11 knots. The document then lists a series of ‘desirable’ characteristics, such as the presence of a secondary crane, a moon pool (i.e., a vertical opening under the hull), and a space functioning as a helipad.
The process envisioned by the Defense Ministry thus involves identifying the vessel on the second-hand market, followed by any necessary maintenance and adaptation work—including measures to ensure interoperability with other Navy units—at a “national shipyard,” based on a project managed by the supplier, leading to delivery by February 2026.
F.M.
